Blindfolds and Heroism
by CandaceFace
Summary: A young model has gone through a lot... To top it off, she obtains a very rare power, and comes in contact with a beautiful silver haired boy named Riku... Adventure ensues. M for a reason! I suck at summaries... RikuxOC
1. Falling

**A/N: So... FIRST STORY UP, YAYYY! :D This chapter, I'm pretty much introducing my main character (which for some reason has my name... and looks like me... and acts like me... Dammit!) and also introducing one of our main villains and whatnot. I really hope people read this lol... If you do, and review, I'll give you slice of magical chocolate pie that will give you X-RAY VISION! *_* Not kidding.**

** Axel: She's lying.**

** When did you escape your cage? (squirts in face with water bottle) Bad Aku! Bad!**

** Axel: (Crying) I'm sorry! Please don't put me back in the cage, I'll be a good boy! And please keep the bad water away from me! It huuurrttss... (sniffles)**

** (narrows eyes) Fine, you pyro. As long as you tell the audience that you love them and give them candy :3**

** Axel: I love you guys... And I'll love you even more if you review! Got it memorized? (smirks and winks) And I'll give you sweet treats at the end of the chapter!**

** (drooling over his sexiness) Do you see why I kidnapped him? Now on with the reading :D**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

** Warnings: smut, potty-mouth language, adult themes, rape, and stuff!**

_ He looked absolutely flawless... It was hard to believe that this picture of erotic perfection was in front of me now, sprawled out, legs spread, arms above his head... His perfect silver locks were disheveled and plastered to his flushed cheeks from the light sheen of sweat on his face. I stared at his steadily rising and falling chest, a well muscled one at that, and my heart grew tight... My chest felt so heavy, and I didn't know why. But I didn't care, because dammit I've been waiting for this for what seemed like forever... Everything about him was perfect. Especially..._

_ That blindfold he _still_ wore._

_ Would he ever take it off?_

_ I often wondered what color his eyes were... Were they silver to match his hair? Were they an electric green? Azure blue? They _had_ to be some special color... Nothing normal could fit such an amazing and special person as Riku._

_ I exhaled slowly as my mind continued to wander, going back and remembering the events that led up to this indescribable moment I was savoring now..._

"Rebekahhhh!" I whined as I sat on the closed toilet seat of my pretty orange bathroom in the apartment that I shared with my best friend, of said name. I was completely ready to go to our shared photo shoot; my hair was done, and so was my makeup. All I needed was to throw on my outfit. She, of course, was still in the shower. I guess she thinks I shit money, because our water bill is through the roof every month because she insists on taking the longest showers known to mankind. Which is why I was still waiting.

And I absolutely _hate_ waiting.

"Chill, babe," she said nonchalantly as she poked her soapy head from behind the shower curtain, "we have loads of time before the shoot! Besides," she continued, receding back into the steamy spray of water, "Your the only one of us who actually gets ready before you even get to a shoot... No one has that kind of skill other than you, Candace. Let's face it... You do _killer_ victor rolls and pinup make up."

I grunted in acknowledgement. She had a point. "Yes, but I like to be early, you know that. And JR doesn't like it when we're slack, either."

I heard the squeak of the shower knobs as she turned the water off and watched as my beautiful friend stepped out o the shower. She was pale to an extreme, but that just gave her the perfect porcelain doll look. Her rich brown hair cascaded wetly far past her shoulders which seemed to force the eye to follow her smooth hourglass shape. She looked at me, concern radiating from her ice-blue eyes.

"What's that look for?" I asked, leaning away with wary eyes for dramatic effect. Please, not an Oprah moment, not today... We went through this last night...

"You okay?" He big blue eyes grew puppy-like; she knew I couldn't say no to that look. My usually sarcastic and crude demeanor melted instantly. Only she could do this to me...

I smiled, barely, and said, "I really am fine, babe. You don't need to worry anymore. What's done is done, and I'm willing to accept it. I'm strong an awesome like that." My smile grew.

"You sure?" Her eyes seemed to deepen in concern. "I mean... What happened the other night was kinda... Brutal." She put some emphasis on that last word. Brutal indeed...

"I kinda don't wanna think about that now." My coldness was back as soon as it left.

"Well, if you need to talk..." She trailed off and walked to our bedroom tochange into something casual before the shoot. I stayed where I was, and contrary to what I told her, I began to unwillingly think about what happened, two nights ago...

_ I can't breathe... I can't FUCKING breath!_

That was all I could think... My body was unbearably hot and I. Couldn't. Breathe. I gasped even harder when I felt those cruel calloused hands on me. When did my clothes come off and why was in a bed? I was trying to put together the pieces, and didn't stop my mental jigsaw puzzle, not even when I felt his hot breath on my neck and his wet tongue on my ear. I didn't stop trying to figure out how this shit happened and why I couldn't fucking breath, even when I felt him pounding into me at a merciless pace. I had delivered his flowers to him, just like I did to the others costumers that day. It was extremely hot, and I'm sure I looked like shit, and God was I thirsty! And I certainly didn't catch any malice in his tone when he asked me if I wanted something to drink. After all, it was over one hundred degrees outside... In fact, he was very polite about it, and it was almost flattering. I took the stupid lemonade gratefully and without question. That's what it was, wasn't it? The fucking lemonade had some sort of rape drug in it, and now I seemed to be dying... All I could do was lay there dumbly, too weak and scared and hot to do anything as his nails drew blood when he clutched me too roughly and slapped me when I screamed and practically chewed on my neck like a dog toy and I _couldn't breathe_! Dear God, I couldn't breathe, I couldn't breathe, I couldn't breathe...

I shook my head of those particular thoughts... I guess the only thing that mattered now was the death threat that seemed to hang in the air tangibly after he had done his dirty deed. He told me he would kill me personally if I caused his reputation to be soiled. Everyone fucking knew him... Even I instantly saw a mental picture of him after I read his name on the list of deliveries that day... I cursed name loudly in my mind as I still sat on the toilet seat...

_ Marluxia._

Once again, I shook my head. I had to stop thinking about it. I felt fresh tears forming in my eyes and hoped it wouldn't ruin my makeup... I worked hard on it.

I took a deep breath and calmed myself, standing up and holding my chin slightly higher than it should have been, trying my best to exude strength. Being weak wasn't my thing... But that little bit of resolve wasn't gonna do it. I needed something that always made me burst with strength and hope... I needed a hug from my soul-sister.

I walked over to her as she sat on our bed, blow-drying her hair, and wrapped her up in my arms, nearly squeezing the life out of her. She immediately turned the noisy machine off and tossed it to the other side of the bed, pulling me close.

"Wanna talk?" she whispered.

"Just hold me, dammit," I almost growled, quietly.

Understanding, she pulled us down so that I was laying on top of her, covering my forehead and cheeks with soft kisses and rubbing my back. She was truly my soul-sister, and I loved her more than anything; more than any boy I've ever dated, more than ice cream, hell, even more than the Gazette. And everyone knew how obsessed I was over them...

She continued comforting me and I soon felt my anger-induced shuddering lessen, and after a minute or so I felt perfect and whole again. I sighed and smiled.

"There's my Can-dance," she used my nickname affectionately. "Now let's go to that shoot!"

That did it. I grabbed her hand excitedly and pulled her up, almost dragging her to the door. Photo shoots always perked me up.

We arrived at 10:30 AM on the dot... Which, technically, was on time. But to JR, our photographer, on time meant ten minutes early, so in his opinion, we were late. Of course.

"Thank for showing up," he said sarcastically, crossing his arms. He was a rather stout man with olive skin and dark hair and eyes. He looked to be of Greek heritage to me.

"I love you too, JR," I said, rolling my eyes. Now usually a model acting like that would get fired, but JR put up with me. I was the best model he had. And besides, the attitude is part of my charm... I think.

JR grunted and grabbed his camera.

"Rebby, why don't you go to hair and makeup while I get started on Candy's solo stuff."

"Kay!" Rebekah squeaked as she skipped off.

I looked at him, deadpan. "I see you're in a good mood," I stated, my sentence reeking with sarcasm.

"Yeah, well... Shit's been kinda bad lately... You know, with Larxene."

"Oh," was all I said to that. That bitch has been controlling his life for a year now. I swear she was some sort of evil super-villain or something...

"Enough of that though, go over to the rack and get your outfit on." He obviously was avoiding the subject.

I silently walked over and grabbed my outfit. I looked at it and suddenly was doubtful about JR's sanity.

"Ummm... JR, are you being serious about this one? This isn't some sort of prank, is it?" I eyed the leather... thing warily. He'd never put me in anything like _this_ before...

"Yeah, I'd figured we'd step it up to a different level this time," he said, switching lenses, not really interested in my concern. "I got an offer yesterday from this really wealthy man... Said he wanted something sexy and kinky for his private office." He twisted the lens experimentally.

"Well, fuck," I muttered under my breath. I always, _always_, did tasteful vintage pinup. Not trashy playboy shit with leather and straps and...

"Is that a rider's crop?"

"Hm?" JR looked up from his camera. "Oh yeah, he requested that bit."

"The fuck...? Who is this freak?" I muttered again.

"Hey, I'm paying you extra for this, so just bear with me. It won't be that bad, I promise."

"Okay, JR... Whatever you say..." I sighed as I pulled on the offensive material. Ugh... I felt extremely exposed as the ass-less leather chaps did nothing to cover my womanhood. Fuck...

I shyly stepped onto the small red X in the middle of the floor in front of JR. The rider's crop felt extremely heavy in my hand. JR whistled low.

"Sorry Candy-bear, I know this isn't quite professional, but... Damn does this look suit you..." he shook his head, eyes wide.

"Can it, you creeper, " I spat as I shot him my most lethal death glare. He immediately returned to being Mr. Professional.

I just brealy started into my usual sexy-yet-tasteful poses, when suddenly, everything went black.

I fell and fell and fell and fell... I could've been falling for hours or minutes, but time seemed to be irrelevant in this dark, never-ending abyss.

Falling, falling, falling, falling...

Suddenly, a surface. My feet landed safe and sure on this surface and as soon as my feet touched ground, a beautiful torrent of white doves flew from under my feet. I watched them fly off into the distance before I noticed that they had uncovered a studding stained glass mosaic... Of an angel it seemed.

I gasped aloud as the image hit me. He had long, silver hair that flowed around him in a ethereal way and a long black cloak that hugged his body in a way that showed his perfectly toned body, which was positioned in a powerful, almost threatening stance, straight on, feet apart, and arms by his sides away from his body, tensed for battle, with a strange red and black blade shaped like a bat wing in his right hand. The most bizarre and beautiful thing about this man though, was that he seemed to be staring directly into my soul... Through a blindfold.

**A/N: End chapter one! Guess where my little main character is? Lol.**

** Axel: (throwing candy to everyone) You gonna review? (smirks)**

** If he keeps being that sexy, I'LL review... On that note, I'm probably just gonna discontinue this story if people don't review and give me feedback. So if you wanna read more, just let me know by clicking the beautiful blue review button down there ^_^**

** Axel: Yeh, what she said!**

** (narrows eyes) I think it's time for my Aku to get to bed, hmmm?**

** Axel: B-But, I don't wanna go back to the cage!**

** Who said you were sleeping in the the cage? (evil grin)**

** Axel: …...Eh?**

** You kids might wanna leave now... I got some moles- I mean work to do ^_^**

** Axel: O_O**


	2. Destiny

** A/N: Damn typos! I can never find them until it's too late (sobs) oh well. Anyways, second chapter, yayyyy! Alright, once again, I'm begging ANYONE who reads to pleeeasse review. Because if you don't, I'll just feel like this is a lost cause, and then I'll just discontinue it. Got it memorized?**

** Axel: Hey! That's MY line!**

** Can it! (hits with toaster) like I was saying, if you review, I'll give you a lock of hair from everyone's favorite pyro: Axel ^_^**

** Axel: -_- This is getting insane! I want my Roku back! (sobs)**

** (gasp) So he admits it! I WINNN! :D Now on with the story, folks...**

** Disclaimer: I own nothing! Except some really yummy cookies I baked today...**

** Warnings: smut, potty-mouth language, adult themes, rape, and stuff!**

He was absolutely captivating... I almost couldn't look away, and the only reason I did break from my trance was because I noticed something different about my clothes. I looked down to realize with shock that I wasn't wearing my kinky leather get up anymore. I wore... Jeez, what the heck was I wearing? I seemed to be wearing a long-sleeved purple minidress, but there were all kinds of black and white straps and zippers on it. It even had a hood. It was so unique, I had to stare at it for a while. It was actually pretty adorable, but it startled me more than anything. What happened to my S&M shit? Not that I missed it...

Then I noticed my shoes. They were white canvas boots that were very movable and light, and they laced up like tennis shoes all the way up to where they stopped about three inches above my knee.

If blacking out and hallucinating was this stylish, I should do it more often...

A voice suddenly tore me from my retarded thoughts.

_You are so near... And yet still so, so far. You have much to learn and overcome, but you are ready to face the darkness. The light within you burns brightly, but if you let it go... You will fall into nothingness. But if you feed it... You will rise to become a great hero._

That voice... I couldn't make it out. Was it a man? Was it a woman? A child? It seemed to be everything at once. It was so full of hope... And sorrow.

_Begin your journey... Step forward._

I hesitantly walked forward over the beautiful mosaic, for some reason absolutely willing to do whatever the voice told me.

As I stepped closer to the center of the glass, three stout podiums appeared around me, each holding something different. On one was a white staff, on another, a silver shield, and on the last was beautiful silver and pearl blade. I walked towards the blade, not caring about what the others were anymore. I reached out to take it...

_Choose wisely... Much lies in your hands._

This blade... This feels right. As I grasped the entrancing weapon, the rightness of my decision seemed to resonate from my heart. The feeling became even more potent when I felt a great power flow from the blade and into me.

The podiums disappeared as I stepped away from the now empty one, and in their place, three doors appeared. Out of curiosity, and the desire to escape this bizarre place, I walked to the first door, which was a glowing sea foam green, covered with ethereal filigree patterns.

_Beyond this door lies friendship. Choose this path and you will gain many friends that will help you... But with gaining friendships comes losing others. Is this the path you choose?_

I thought it over... And realized that I had nothing to base this decision on. What this a dream or reality? I wasn't so sure anymore. And if this was all real, then I was making some pretty important decisions here. I looked tentatively at my blade... Am I... Going to fight with this? Fear along with confusion swelled inside of me. This can't be real. Did someone slip me drugs? Jeez, not twice in one week, this is really getting excessive... But what if this really was some true out-of-body experience that did actually mean something to my life? How do I confront this? Should I confront it at all?

The answer came to me very quickly, as if it were painfully apparent.

Yes.

Yes I will take this on.

This is my... My _destiny_...

The word came to my mind as if it wasn't even my own subconscious that brought it to me. As if someone else had said it in my mind before I had thought of it myself.

Once again, I found myself straightening up and breathing deep, trying to exude as much strength as I could. I turned my attention to the doors again. The one in front of me led to friendship. Maybe I should check the others... The next one over was a glowing mother of pearl color with the same embellishments as the first.

_This door will bring you great luck. No matter what you try and accomplish, something with happen to cause you to win. But be careful... Sometimes bad fortune follows good. Is this the path you choose?_

Hmm... Bad fortune does often follow good. So yeah, no thanks.

I walked to the next door which was drastically different. It was a pure solid red, no embellishments, no glow. Just plain red. I wonder...

_This door will bring you happiness... And a great love. But love is always tragic. This door will not only bring you the greatest joy you've ever known, but it will also bring great sorrow... Though you should remember one thing... Something you've always known..._

_ Love is the key._

The key? I hesitated... The key to what? Is the key the purpose of these riddles?

Once again, I felt a strange sensation in my heart. I felt... Drawn to this door somehow. As if it was incredibly crucial that I open this particular door. Before I even thought it over, I found myself pulling the twin handles and releasing a great light from behind the door. The light was blinding, and I found myself in another dark room with another mosaic under my feet. This mosaic was of a young man, almost a boy. He seemed to be just chilling in a very grandiose chair, and he was smiling such a beautiful smile, and his angelic face was radiant with happiness. His hair was brown and stuck out in all kinds of gravity defying directions, and his eyes were a stunning ocean-water blue. His clothes were kind of in the same strappy/zipper covered style as my clothes, except his clothes were black and red, and he wore a crown pendant around his neck. And his blade! It was the coolest thing I'd ever seen! It was gold and silver and was shaped like a key! How interesting...

But before I could get even more sucked into this beautiful boy's happiness, I heard a strange sound behind me. I whipped around and saw a black creature with yellow eyes and wriggling antennas. The thing started crawling towards me and I panicked. The voice yelled at me, frantic.

_Use the keyblade!_

Eh?

Before I could think anymore about what the voice said, the monster was suddenly very close, and I swung my weapon out of instinct, catching the monster in the gut.

"Whoa!" I gasped aloud as the monster disappeared. Because suddenly, the blade that was in my hand a minute ago was gone. In it's place was a blade much like the one the brown-haired boy had, except mine was silver and pearl, and let's face it, way more girly. It was covered completely in curling vines and leaves... It was beautiful. What did the voice call it? A... Keyblade?

The gorgeous weapon glinted in my hand, almost like it was saying, "Yeah, that's me!"

I half smiled and chuckled. I could get used to this...

As if reading my thoughts to tell me that I most certainly could _not_ get used to this insanity, I found myself falling through darkness again, but this time the fall ended much quicker than I had anticipated, and I found myself looking at yet another mosaic, this time of a very pretty red haired girl with pretty light indigo colored eyes. She wore a pink mini dress that was a lot like mine, only hers didn't have long sleeves or as many straps. She too sat in a throne, except she was much more regal in her pose and she wore a very small gold crown on her head. She also had a keyblade which was covered in flowers.

Suddenly I heard a rumbling all around me, and the floor trembled beneath me. Oh no...

_Careful. Where there is great light, there is also great darkness. Sometimes the darkness is so great that it becomes hard to find the light. But remember... In the deepest darkness lies the greatest light..._

In front of me I saw something that both frightened me and caused me to well with courage. A huge black monster with a gaping heart-shaped hole in it's chest had risen from the shadows and was staring down at me. The voice kept speaking, seemingly very calm.

_Don't be afraid... You must always remember..._

I didn't have time to think about that because suddenly the monster reached down into the floor and pulled out a radiating ball... of darkness it seemed to be. I don't know how I knew it, but I could practically _smell_ the darkness... It was foul.

Once again I found myself radiating with strength, and I felt my keyblade hum in anticipation. It _wanted_ to fight this thing.

I ran towards the monster and found that I could only attack it's hands. I swung my blade relentlessly, not sure where this newfound skill was coming from, but it only took mere minutes for me to defeat this creature.

It fell to the ground with a great rumble and disappeared, releasing a great crystal heart to the sky. I heard the voice again.

_You must always remember..._

The ground turned to darkness and swallowed me up.

_That you will be the one..._

I fought the darkness that surrounded me to no avail. I found myself suffocating.

_To close the reverse door._

Nothingness.

The voices were muffled...

"Candace!"

What?

"Candace, please wake up!"

I felt a faint shaking...

"Please, don't let anything be wrong with you, I need my Can-dance!"

Suddenly I understood. My eyes popped open and I saw a big pair of very concerned ice-blue eyes.

"Rebekah... Holy crap, what a dream..."

No way. There is no way that all of that was a dream... It couldn't be!

"A dream? Wanna tell me about it?" She asked as she pulled me up to a siting position. I was now in a robe, but underneath I could still feel the stupid leather. Fuck my life.

"I... Maybe? I'm really confused..." I trailed off and clenched my fist, wishing that my beautiful keyblade was still in my hand...

"It's okay, I guess you're fine now. Are you feeling lightheaded or hungry or thirsty? If you're blood-sugar levels are low again, I'm gonna have to slap you because you know that I _know _why they would be, and if you think for one second that I'll let you be anorexic again after all that hard work I put into your last intervention, you are sorely-"

"Rebekah!" I cut her off and she sat patiently, waiting for my explanation. "Jeez babe, calm down, I'm eating just fine, and I'm drinking lots of water too. I don't know why I just blacked out like that..."

"Hmmm..." She looked at me concerned but now a little suspicious. "Well if this ever happens again, I'm taking you to the hospital. And that's final!"

"Yes, mom."

JR walked in suddenly from the street holding a bottle of orange juice. Oh yeah, orange juice helps when your blood-sugar levels are low...

"Umm... You're awake!" He said with a smile. "Do you uh, need this?" He held out the little bottle.

"Actually, I feel just fine," I said standing up. Confused as shit, but fine I guess.

"You sure?" Rebekah stood up with me, her hands almost hovering around me in case I fell or had a seizure or something crazy. JR just stood there looking worried.

"I'm fine guys, really... I just... I don't know, I think I need to go home and just rest. Wait, what time is it?"

JR looked at his watch. "It's 11:02."

"Wow so I was out for like, ten minutes. What a doozey... Well I guess I'll fix up some ramen and egg at home. You want me to fix you some when we get there?" I looked at Rebekah as we walked towards the door.

"Take care, JR!" She said over her shoulder. He nodded and she looked back to me. "That would be great, love! Well, that is if you're not feeling bad...?"

"I already told you, I'm fine now and stop giving me that damn look!"

Her effective puppy-dog eyes kept on relentlessly.

"Mehhh..." I glared at her as we headed to my shoddy green escort sport. "You know what? I'm just gonna ignore you for the rest of the day except for when I hand you the bowl of noodles with a fried egg on top, and if you-"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry! I'll stop being so worried. Though you can't blame me, can you? This week has been so crazy, I have every right to be worried about you! You're my best friend..." She trailed off, looking down as I walked around to the driver's side.

I paused, my hand on the door handle. "You know what... You're right. I should be grateful that you're even concerned at all. I love you, honey bun." I smiled and giggled.

Rebekah laughed. "I love you too, sweet cheeks! Now go fix me some ramen, woman!"

I laughed as I got in the car.

The drive home was pretty much silent, mostly because I wasn't really saying anything because I couldn't get that damn dream out of my head... It was a dream, wasn't it? The words of the voice rang in my ears...

You will be the one to close the reverse door?

What the fuck was that supposed to mean?

I fought back a frustrated sigh. I must be going absolutely bonkers...

I pulled up in front of the apartment complex, lucky to get the parking space directly in front of the door. Rebekah smiled at me and we both headed to the door. I scanned my card, took the stairs because the screwy elevator was too slow, plus it scared the crap out of me, and unlocked our door.

I breathed in the sweet smell of my scent and Rebekah's mixed. It was a very floral smell, we both just had natural fragrances about us that smelled like flowers.

Home... I sighed as I plopped on the pink down comforter of our bed. I felt crazy tired... Probably because I had been fighting crazy monsters with my keyblade all morning...

I shook my head. It was a dream. Just a dream...

Right?

I rolled my eyes and got up to walk to the kitchenette. It was pale yellow and pastel green, one of my favorite color combinations, especially for a kitchen. I filled a pot with water and set it on the stove to boil. I waited for the slow ass contraption to heat the water. We really needed a new stove...

After I had prepared the food for us, I noticed that I didn't really know where Rebekah had gone to. That's weird. It's kinda hard to lose someone in an itty-bitty apartment like ours. And it was way too quiet. I left the bowls where they were and slowly walked from the kitchenette to the bedroom. I didn't hear anything. I suddenly started to get very scared. Did someone snatch her from under my nose that quickly? I shuddered and turned to my left to look at our bathroom door. It was open slightly, and dark. Please let her be in there, just chilling waiting to scare me or something...

I padded softly across the floor and slowly creaked the door open.

Nothing.

Suddenly, I heard a terribly familiar sound.

I spun around in horror to find five of the smaller monsters that I had fought in my dream.

I couldn't even scream. I just stared open-mouthed as they crawled towards me. I could feel stinging tears well up in my eyes.

Well. I guess this is where I pray now...

Before I could greet the Lord in prayer, my keyblade popped into my hand. Happiness hit me like a train and I found myself laughing slightly as I realized that with my pretty little blade, I could take these little fuckers.

I swung and twirled stabbed until every one of them were defeated.

"Impressive."

The voice wasn't mine... It was a man's. The voice of a man that I would have killed to never hear again.

I took a shuddering breath and turned around. There he was in all his pink-haired, intimidating glory. If he hadn't have done so much shit to me, I would have called him beautiful. He was standing there in a black cloak that was identical to the beautiful silver-haired man that I saw in the mosaic. In his hand was a fucking scythe. This guy was going to _murder_ me. But that wasn't my concern right now.

"Where's Rebekah? What did you do to her?" I asked, tensing for battle, no matter how futile my attempts would be.

He laughed, mocking me. "Oh, the princess? She's... Well, let's just say that she's safe and sound now." He smirked, his blue eyes glinting dangerously.

"No where with you would be safe and sound... Let her go!" My face was contorted with anger, all fear gone. That bastard had my sister...

"You do not yet know who you are... What you have been called upon to accomplish. It's my pleasure to let you know that you never will. Because you'll never escape this room alive."

With that he swung his scythe and a torrent of red flower petals flew around him. He stalked towards me, obviously not in a hurry. He wanted to make this slow and horrible.

I was shaking, but I still had some strength. I waited for him to come to me. At least let me get one swing in...

My thoughts were interrupted when a swirling mass of darkness appeared to my right near the kitchenette. Out it flew a dark shape that blocked Marluxia's swing of his scythe. The blades were about five inches from my face. I looked at the locking of weapons and recognized the one doing the blocking...

It was him! The angel with the blindfold... How did he know what was wear with that thing on?

He spoke. "Just what do you think you are doing, Marluxia?"

Marluxia sputtered. "You! Y-you... Impostor! How dare you soil the Organization's name with your deceitful imitation!"

In his outrage, Marluxia attacked him, completely forgetting about me in the process. I crumpled to the floor in shock as I watched them fight, getting a taste of the pink-haired wealthy man's skill and knew that I wouldn't have lasted ten seconds if I had tried to defend myself. But the way the silver-haired angel fought! He was so beautiful and graceful and cat-like, much like Marluxia, but his skill was immeasurable. How did he do all of this blindfolded? The fight was terrifyingly beautiful, and it came to an abrupt end when the angel sliced Marluxia's side. It seemed to be a shallow wound though, and he would no doubt survive it.

He gasped and staggered backwards. As he clutched his side, he said, "You won't survive this." He glanced at me. "You least of all."

And with that he disappeared through another shadowy mass, which now seemed to be some type of portal.

I let out a breath that I didn't realize I was holding and felt myself becoming light headed. I felt my keyblade disappear, and I nearly fell backwards before my angel caught me... Wait, what am I saying? He isn't mine...

"Are you hurt?" He asked. There was only a hint of concern in his voice, and I wished that I could see his eyes... Other than that, his demeanor was very stoic and somewhat cold. Quite the contrast to what happened in my chest when I felt his warm arms hold me to keep me from falling.

I nodded my head, to shocked to say anything. What the hell was going on...?

The angel sighed, frustrated. "Alright, well I guess I've got some explaining to do, and there are a lot of other people that want to talk to you, so... It would be helpful if you got up and came with me."

I couldn't think. There should be a warning signal going off in my head, but once again, my instinct told me that I should trust him. I sat up, still dazed, but stable. The angel all the while hovered beside me, taking note of every move I made, just in case I fell again. He then made a gesture with his arm and the shadow-portal was there again.

"Go ahead and step through." He gestured towards the portal.

I looked at him like he was insane.

He sighed, frustrated. "It won't hurt you." Then with a gentler tone, he added, "I'll be right behind you. I promise."

I nodded my head again and took a few hesitant steps through the portal. As promised, he was right behind me. Inside, it reminded me very much of my dream that I had earlier in the day, minus the pretty mosaics. Everything was black except for the angel behind me. I was so confused and I felt kind of awkward, not sure wether to walk or stand or breath or die or anything, and I just stood there, not knowing what to do. I felt like I had regressed to a scared five year old that had just found herself alone in the middle of a crowded super-market, not knowing where her mother went. It was such a sad and lonely feeling, and the stoic angel did nothing to help it. And... I just couldn't take it... After all that I had been through in the past few years, let alone the past week, I just couldn't stay strong anymore. I broke down, and began to cry. The crying only turned to hysterics as I felt a warm, gloved hand on my shoulder, doing it's best to comfort me. Once again, I slid to the floor, too weak and scared to do anything else. He followed me down and cradled me gently, but made sure not to come too close. There was a definite barrier between us that for some reason I was dying to tear down. But for now, I would just settle with crying. There was nothing else I could do...

After a while, I felt my tears lessen, and soon I was just sitting there, breathing, feeling like things would be better if I just had an aneurysm and died or something. But since that wasn't going to happen, I decided that I should just suck it up and say something.

I cleared my throat. "I'm sorry... for the whole... um, hysterical crying thing..." I glanced at him tentatively. "Thank you for saving me."

He responded simply. "Don't mention it," and was up on his feet again.

I took that as a sign that I should get up too. I stood up a little shakily, but stood tall.

He started walking and gestured for me to follow him. I did as I was told and not two steps later, we faded very suddenly into light again. I shielded my eyes. Jeez it was bright outside after being in that darkness for so long...

I took in my surroundings... We seemed to be in a little marketplace. There was a store for weapons and shields and another for armor and other stores that I didn't understand... I looked to my right and saw a great castle that looked like it had seen it's better days... The towers were crooked and strange contraptions were all over it.

"Are you coming?" The angel's head was looking from over his shoulder, expectantly.

"Umm..." was my intelligent reply. I decided that I should just follow and not talk. I sounded like and idiot when I talked out loud...

We walked through the marketplace and through some little streets with little houses and the like. We passed another house where a blond-haired man in a white t-shirt and jeans and an apron was holding rolls of papers that looked like they were either blue-prints or maps. He turned from opening the door when he heard us pass by.

"Riku!" He said with a thick southern drawl from around the straw he had in his mouth. "What took ya so long?" He then averted his gaze towards me. His eyes widened. "Is that... Is that...?" He sputtered.

"Yeah Cid, this is the Fourth."

"Well, whattaya know..." He trailed off, nodded at me in a greeting since his hands were full, and pushed open the door with his foot.

So... Riku was his name... And I guess he's not an angel, is he? No one else seemed reverent of him...

We walked further through more paths and stairs and came upon a large building where there was quite a labyrinth of hallways which Riku easily navigated, and entered a lavish office where the next great surprise of my day sat.

There he was, just chilling in the chair at the desk, his huge shoes propped up carelessly on top of some papers. His big blue eyes bubbled with joy, and he grinned at me like I was his favorite person. It was the cutest thing ever, and I felt a great urge to just glomp him, though I had no idea why I should be so happy to see him.

"Candace!" He yelled and jumped over the desk and tackled me with a hug. He was so happy and infectious, that I just went with it and hugged him back just as enthusiastically.

"Sora!" I said it without thinking. "Wait... Why do I know your name?" I pulled away from him, confused.

"Umm... I dunno," he said, scratching his head. "That seems to happen a lot..."

Riku sighed behind me. "Sora, to be so damn special, you are so oblivious." He walked around us and sat on the edge of the desk. "Candace, you know his name, because you share his heart... You are the fourth Key that will lock the door to the Reverse Kingdom Hearts."

** A/N: Woo! Second chapter done! Sorry if it seemed like a rather abrupt ending, but I had to cut this chapter off, it was becoming a monster! I'll get the third chapter up soon though, so all you're questions will be answered! ^_^**

** Axel: Yeh! And here's some candy for you guys... If you review, she'll be nice to me, and she won't hit me with things anymore...**

** Note how he said nothing about what I did to him the other night... (wink)**

** Axel: I... I-I forgot, that's all!**

** Well then, what do you have to say about it? (grins)**

** Axel: …... You don't deserve an answer, you meanie!**

** Shut up, flamesilocks! (hits with beer-stein)**

** oh yeah, and to stress this, once again... REVIEWWWW! PLEASE! :D**


	3. Friends

** A/N: Alright, chapter three! This chapter I'm putting in lots of needed explaining and I'm gonna develop the relationship between our heroes, and after this, things should be getting even more exciting :3**

** Axel: (holds up sign saying HELP ME scribbled with sharpie)**

** (narrows eyes) Anyways, I can't stress this enough, reviews are like my oxygen, and if I get my oxygen, I'll love you forever, first of all, secondly, I'll give you some of the tasty pancakes that I'm about to go make in a second...**

** Axel: (perking up and dropping sign) Pancakes! Can I have some? Pleaseeee?**

** Only if you're a good boy.**

** Axel: kay :3 (huggles me and plays with my hair)**

** :O holy crap, now this is more like it! Hehe, now on with the reading!**

I stared at him, blinking a couple times. I didn't understand one word he just said to me.

He sighed, exasperated now. Pinching the space between his eyes through the blindfold, he said, "That probably just sounded like Pig Latin to you, didn't it?"

I nodded my head, afraid to say something retarded. But then I remembered something crucial.

"He has Rebekah!" my hands flew to my throat out of instinct.

They looked at each other, and asked simultaneously, "Who?"

"Marluxia! He has her! He wouldn't tell me where she was, but he called her a princess... He was talking in all kinds of riddles and stuff..." I started to truly panic. I needed her...

"Leave it to Marluxia," Sora muttered with a roll of his eyes. Then louder he said, "I guess they have an advantage that we didn't catch." He looked at me. "I guess we know now that you're friend is the eighth Princess of Heart."

"Princess of what?" I asked incredulously.

Riku bit his lip, which nearly made me die. "You wouldn't be able to understand without the whole story..."

Then Sora spoke up. "Well!" He said practically skipping over to where Riku sat and taking a seat beside him. "I guess we'll just have to explain what's been going on for the past few years then."

"I guess so," Riku muttered. "I should go get Leon and the others. Stay here and keep Candace company." He gracefully walked through a door to the left, leaving me alone with Sora.

He smiled at me and said, "Sorry, Riku isn't exactly a welcoming person... He usually leaves that to me. Welcome to Radiant Garden!" He spread his arms dramatically.

I laughed softly. "Thank you, Sora... You're very kind. Is this your home?"

Sora shook his spiky locks, his face dropping just slightly. "No, me, Riku, and Kairi, you'll meet her later, are from Destiny Islands, also known as the most awesome place ever! Hopefully we can take you there one day..."

"Hmm, you seem a little homesick." I wondered out loud. Even just the tiniest bit of sadness showed so easily on his face.

"Yeah, I guess I am. I really took the place for granted before... Well, I'll let Riku explain it. Here he comes now."

Riku walked back in then, followed by a fucking _gorgeous_ brunette man that had a scar that ran diagonally between his eyes. Holy crap... Behind him was a cute, energetic girl with short black hair and another girl with long braided brown hair who seemed to exude serenity. As they walked in, they all looked directly at me, which only made me feel even more awkward. I needed to know why the hell everyone was treating me like I was special and talking about keys and doors and shit!

The black-haired girl spoke first. "Hi! I'm the Great Ninja Yuffie! But you can just call me Yuffie, oh great keyblade wielder." She smiled warmly and wiggled her fingers at me in a cute wave.

The brown-haired girl stepped a little closer towards me. "I'm Aerith," she said softly, "and welcome to Radiant Garden."

"Hey! I already took care of that one," Sora said, putting his hands behind his head and leaning back in the most adorably casual pose I've ever seen. God, this kid was amazing...

Aerith shot him a look. "As I was saying," she returned her gaze to me, "I want you to make yourself completely at home here. We have an extra room for you to stay in, or rather Merlin made you one, and you'll be living with Sora, Riku, and Kairi in this building."

The ridiculously sexy brunette spoke up after all this time speculating me. "Speaking of which," he said in a masculine and slightly muted voice, "Where is Kairi?"

Everyone looked to Sora expectantly.

"Don't look at me! I'm not her keeper..."

The brunette man spoke again, "Sora, you're practically up her ass all the time, you're really the most likely person to know where she is since Riku's been gone for the past few weeks."

"Ehh... I dunno... She's probably at the library in the castle. She's been spending more time there than usual, and she always tells me that she wants to be alone when she's there. I think she's just been trying to reconnect with her childhood."

"That's understandable, but someone needs to bring her back here to meet the new wielder..." He looked at me again, and said in a softer voice, "I can't believe it chose another one with no experience or anything at all under their belt to prepare themselves for this kind of thing."

Sora snorted, "Come on, Leon, like that means anything! Remember when we first met... You were such a rude ass back then, saying that I was just a kid, and then I went and saved the worlds!"

The man, who was apparently name Leon simply said, "Don't say 'ass'. It doesn't suit you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Said Sora, hopping off the desk.

"I mean you're way too innocent to be cursing. It doesn't sound right coming from your mouth."

"Hey, I'm not _that_ innocent-"

"Oh I'm sure," Said Leon with a roll of his eyes.

"Alright, quit bickering, the both of you! You're scaring our guest!" Yuffie said, hands on her hips. "Riku I think it's high past time that you started explaining things to Candace."

Riku had been leaning against the desk this whole time, head down, and fist under his chin, thinking deeply. Everything seemed to get a little more silent than it should have been as we waited for him to speak. He took his fist from under his chin and began, keeping his head down.

"Three years ago from today, the Keyblade chose it wielder. The wielder was Sora." He paused, and some sort of emotion that felt very painful hung in the air, seeming to exude from Riku. "His island- our home- was destroyed and sank into the darkness that night. Kairi disappeared, I fell into the hands of darkness, and Sora found himself alone in Traverse Town where he met these three," he gestured to Leon, Aerith, and Yuffie, "among other friends. There he learned about the Heartless, or those without hearts that are created when a person loses their heart. He also learned about a man named Ansem the wise who had dedicated his life to studying the heart and it's innermost workings. He learned that at the core of everything, there was a heart; even worlds themselves had hearts. The problem was that the Keyholes to these hearts had unlocked, and one by one, worlds were falling into darkness. It was then his mission to lock these keyholes and save everyone from impending darkness. There were many who got in his way, including myself..." He paused a moment and took a deep breath, which he let go slowly. "I fought with Sora, and the darkness took me... I then was possessed by none other than Ansem. Not Ansem the wise, but the Heartless form of one of Ansem the Wise's apprentices... Xehanort." A chill ran through the air at the sound of his name. "It was his wish to open the door to darkness and obtain Kingdom Hearts; The heart of all worlds. Sora defeated this 'Ansem' and with the help of King Mickey of the Disney Castle and myself, we shut the door to darkness for good, though the King and I were trapped inside, and all the worlds that were destroyed were restored."

I interrupted. "Who were the Princesses of Heart?"

"They are the seven maidens of purest heart that hold the key to revealing the door to darkness. Kairi is one of them."

"What about Rebekah?"

"I'll get to that part in a moment. While Sora had his own battles with his memories and another set of foes called Organization XIII, I was battling the darkness inside of me. In the end, I defeated the part of Ansem that still possessed me... But I accepted the darkness as a part of myself."

I guessed the blindfold had something to do with that... Asking that would've been rude though, so I kept that to myself.

"Eventually, Sora, Kairi, and I were reunited and sent home after Sora opened the Door to Light, a great accomplishment in itself. But we received news last year that the danger wasn't over... That _another_ Kingdom Hearts had been discovered. You could say that it's an opposite Kingdom Hearts, found in a parallel dimension. It turns out that after Sora discovered that Kingdom Hearts was made of light, through a bit of research, it was discovered that there is a Reverse Kingdom Hearts... Made completely of darkness. _That_ was the power that Xehanort, his heartless, and his nobody, Xemnas were looking for this whole time."

Sora leaned over and whispered in my ear. When the heck did he get beside me? "A nobody is also created when a heartless is. The whole Organization is made up of them."

"It's also been confirmed that though Kingdom Hearts is locked by exactly three keys, Reverse Kingdom Hearts needs four. Sora, King Mickey, and I were the three. This time though, it will have to be Sora, Kairi, myself... And you. You are the fourth, Candace, and luckily we have found you after a year of searching before anyone else did... Though I was almost too late."

"And Rebekah... She is the eighth Princess that will reveal this new door to darkness?"

"Correct."

"And... The... Organization. They have her?" A sense of dread seemed to overwhelm me.

"Unfortunately, yes. They somehow captured all of the Princesses, except Kairi of course, before we could, even with my help of being able to use Corridors of Darkness- the portal I took you through today."

I thought for a moment... The things the voice was saying in my dream are making a lot of sense now. I looked up, understanding much needed information, and finally able to function like myself. "Well, I guess we're in a bit of a rat race, huh?"

"It would seem that way," Leon said. "For now, we have a slight upper hand. We have the Keys, and one of the needed Princesses. If we keep our advantage, the Organization won't be able to even come near Reverse Kingdom Hearts, and we'll be able to take them out one by one until the threat is eliminated. Then the worlds will finally be safe again..."

We all stood in silence. For some of those in the room, their past was weighing heavily on them, and for some, new information was being processed. Sora broke the silence.

"Come on, guys! Stop being all mopey, we've got this! Everything is gonna be fine, especially since we have the Fourth!" He threw his arm over my shoulders like we were old pals. I saw a look on his face that told me something just dawned on him. He looked at me, curiously. "How old are you?"

Riku chuckled slightly. "Watch out, Sora. If Kairi finds out you like the Fourth, she's gonna get pretty pissy."

Sora's arm fell to his side. "I... No, you- it's not like that! I was just curious..." He trailed off, blushing.

I laughed and said, "It's okay Sora, I would have been curious too. I'm 19." I smiled. "What about you?"

He puffed up, proudly, "I'll be 18 this month!" He had the goofiest smile on his face, I had to chuckle.

"Really? I would've guessed closer to twelve..."

"Ohh!" Yuffie laughed. "The new girl has jokes!"

"Won't Cid be glad to know," Leon said, a hint of a smile playing on his lips.

I glanced at Riku while everyone laughed at Sora's dejected face. As I watched him, everything around me faded, and it was just him... He seemed so... Sad. Like, deeply sad about something. His sadness made me feel awful; it took everything I had to not walk over and hold him in comfort.

Wait... Was that... A tear I just saw?

Sure enough, a tiny drop of liquid slipped from the gap under the blindfold beside his nose. He quickly and inconspicuously swiped it away. If I hadn't seen the tear, I would have thought he was just moving his bangs to the side. That tear... It killed me to see it on his face. Why it physically hurt me, I didn't know... I just couldn't bear to see him cry.

I finally faded back into the conversation at hand.

"...It was way bigger than Riku's!"

I blinked, confused, then laughed. "Okay, I definitely started listening to that conversation at the wrong moment."

Sora blinked at me, his head tilted slightly, and then he caught what he must have sounded like and started laughing hysterically. "Oh my God! That..." another burst of laughter, "that sounded so bad! I was actually talking about..." giggles, "one time at the island when me and Riku were little, and we decided that we were gonna build sandcastles that day. Of course we made it into a competition to see who could build the biggest. I won, of course." He beamed proudly.

I laughed at him. "Are you two always that competitive?"

"Pretty much. Right, Riku?" Sora playfully punched him in the arm. Riku snapped back into the human world at the contact.

He smiled, barely, at his friend. "Yeah, when it comes to basically everything... Hey, it's actually getting kind of late... I think I need to head out and find Kairi. Candace, would you like to come with me? I'm sure you want to meet her."

I smiled and nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, that would be great."

"Alright then, come with me," He said as he walked back out of the office to the labyrinth of hallways.

We walked silently together, and I couldn't help but look at him every two seconds. He was so beautiful... I drank everything about him in. The way his hair flowed in the slight wind that was made as we walked, his perfect profile, his perfect build, how graceful he was, even his smell... Everything about him was intoxicating, and I almost needed to touch him.

I wonder what color his eyes were?

"Riku?" I asked quietly.

"What is it?" He asked softly, a little calmer than he had been throughout the other part of the day.

"Why do you wear a blindfold? Do you ever take it off?"

It took him a minute to answer. "Remember what I said about me accepting the darkness? Well, this is an unfortunate downside to that, among other things. I have to keep this on, or..." He stopped.

"...Or... What?" I asked even more softly.

"I'd rather not say right now." He stopped walking and turned towards me. We were right in front of the door that led to the outside. "Have you ever had to lie to yourself about something? Anything at all?"

I thought about it... And yes, there was a time when I had to lie to myself... When I was with the guy that I thought was the love of my life, my soul-mate. But it happened that I fell for another guy... Who ended up breaking my heart. Since then, I haven't been able to bring myself to try to love someone again... I guess I've been lying to myself for years because I thought I could make it through life without love. I realized that I was wrong. I nodded my head and stared at his blindfold. I could feel a yearning radiate from from him.

"Well... Basically, I'm having to lie to myself, and everyone else, every single day of my life. Because without the lie, no one would recognize me as the Riku I once was..." He stepped towards me and grabbed my shoulders tightly. He leaned in until our noses were almost touching. He spoke almost harshly, desperately. "Don't _ever_ let your heart even have a single _taste_ of darkness. You will regret it forever." With that he let me go and started walking again.

It took me a second to start following. What he said unnerved me, but what was more unsettling was what I felt in my stomach. Was that... Butterflies? I shook it from my thoughts and followed him out the door.

Outside, it was almost dark. The sky was a dark blue and there were stars beginning to show themselves in the evening sky. I took a deep whiff of the thick summer air, permeated with a hot, sensual smell of flowers. There must have been a garden nearby. I smelled the sweet smell of honey-suckles, gardenias, magnolias, roses, peonies, and dozens of other lovely smells that I couldn't pick out. Riku noticed me taking in all the fragrances and spoke, looking over his shoulder as he walked. "You must like flowers." He seemed to be over his little episode.

I smiled. "Yeah, flowers are one of my favorite things. The smells, the colors, the softness of the petals... They're all so beautiful to me." I almost blushed at how sappy I sounded just then. Jeez, why did I feel all... Squishy around him?

Riku chuckled softly. "Mine too," He said as his head turned to look ahead again. "I'll have to show you the garden one day."

For some reason my stomach did little backflips at the thought. Me and Riku alone in a garden? I fought back a sigh. We reached the part of town where all the streets and houses were, and we spotted a very familiar red-haired girl walking out of the house we saw Cid at earlier. She looked up and smiled brightly at me.

"Oh! You must be the Fourth!" She ran to me and gave me a soft hug. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you," she said with a laugh. "I'm Kairi."

I giggled. "I'm Candace. It's nice to finally meet you." I inspected her quickly, to see if she had anything that resembled Rebekah. I didn't notice anything in particular so I just looked at Riku, expecting him to say something.

"I'm glad you decided to head back into town. I didn't want to have to go all the way to that God forsaken castle." He talked about the place with quite an air of distaste. Something must have happened to him there...

"Oh Riku, it's not as bad as it used to be... Things are a lot different there since... Well, you know."

"Right," he said with a sound of disgust. "I think it's time for us to head back to our rooms. None of us should be out at night. You especially." He poked Kairi on the forehead.

"Hey! Cut it out!" She smacked his hand away. "You know I'm not a little helpless child anymore. I can take care of myself!"

"Yeah, yeah, you think you're such hot stuff since you've been training with Leon."

"Well... He said that I was making lots of progress! He acted really impressed during our last session."

"Um, Kairi... Have you noticed how he looks at you?"

She tilted her head in confusion.

"Kairi, he thinks you're hot. And that skirt doesn't help either."

A rosy color grew in her face slowly as she realized what he meant. "But... No, I don't believe you! You're just messing with me!"

He smiled a little. "No really, I'm being serious. You can find out for yourself. Next time during training, act like you lost an earring, then when your back is turned towards him, just spread your legs and little, and bend over-"

Kairi cut him off with an adorable squeak and smacked his arm, a very prominent blush on her face. "I would never do that! Sora would kill me!"

For the first time, I heard Riku truly laugh. "Hey, it's not like you two are even together yet. Jeez, when are you just gonna bite the bullet and make out one day? I'm seriously just waiting for it to happen in front of everyone. If the suspense is killing us, it's gotta be killing you."

She smacked him again. "I'm just not ready for that kind of thing, alright!"

"Yeah, whatever. Are you gonna come back with us, or do you wanna get attacked by a mob of Heartless alone."

I gasped. There were Heartless here?

"Oh, I'm sorry, Candace, I should have told you... The Heartless have been popping up everywhere, _again_, but here they only show up at night. And since it's getting to be that time..." he looked up at the darkening sky, "I suggest that we all head back to our rooms."

"Yeah, I'd really rather not have another run in with them again today." I fought back a shiver.

We walked back through the streets and stairs until we got to the hallways again, Riku and Kairi bickering back and forth the whole time. They seemed very close, and for a moment, I was almost worried that they liked each other. But as I payed attention to their conversation and body language, I saw that they must have been just close friends. Riku was definitely keeping his distance, probably for Sora's sake, and most of their conversation was about Sora and Kairi's relationship, or lack thereof. But that didn't mean that he didn't like her...

I suddenly became quite jealous of the beautiful girl. This emotion alarmed me quite a bit, and I mentally smacked myself. Get your shit _together_, Candace...

We reached the office again, and saw that Sora was the only one left, and he was asleep in the lavish chair behind the desk.

"Leave it to Sora," Riku muttered with a shake of his head.

He walked over to where he sat, knocked out and snoring lightly, and smacked him in the head.

"HEARTLESS SANDWICHES!" He screamed as he dramatically fell out the chair, his keyblade popping into his hands while he was midair.

Riku just stood there, looking at him. Finally he asked simply, "...Did you just say 'heartless sandwiches'?"

Sora just lay there beside the desk on his back, keyblade disappearing. "Yeah! I was sitting at home in the kitchen, eating a sandwich, when all the sudden, my sandwich came alive, but it was yelling at me and shaking it's little fist, and it had a heartless symbol on it. It was cool and all, and I was just gonna eat it, but then all the sudden, a thousand heartless sandwiches were chasing me down the beach, which sucked, because I didn't have my keyblade!" He groaned and didn't show any signs of getting back up.

Kairi busted out laughing along with me and we practically had to hold each other up to keep from falling over and dying with laughter. I even heard Riku chuckle at his friend's retardedness.

Kairi then ran over and glomped Sora, ruffling his hair. "Sora, do you know how stupid and funny you are?"

Sora, blushing a little, just laughed at her, and Riku looked at me and smirked evilly. While I died a little on the inside from the sexy expression, I could have sworn that I saw his eyebrows wiggle deviously from under the blindfold.

He walked over to the couple silently and slowly, then suddenly pushed the back of Kairi's head down, making the two connect... At the lips.

They both gasped and stared at each other for a second, then they both closed their eyes, and Riku saw that they didn't need his hand to keep Kairi there anymore.

I giggled silently and held my fist out to Riku. He bumped it with his fist, and gestured towards the door.

As the door closed behind us, he leaned against the wall saying, "Now that I've craftily taken care of that problem, would you like to see your room?"

"Yeah, that would be great," I said, smiling. I loved this Riku. I loved seeing him happy and playing around with his friends, not the Riku that was sad and stoic and angry.

He pushed himself away from the wall and started down the hallways. Thank God he was here for me to follow; I was sure to get lost on my own. We soon came to four doors.

Riku pointed to them as we walked by. "That's Sora's room, that's Kairi's room, that's mine, and this," he stopped at the fourth door, "is your room."

He turned the knob and held the door open for me. Aww, he's a gentleman... Shut up, stupid brain!

I walked in and my eyes widened in surprise. The room was gorgeous! Everything done in a very romantic Victorian style. The color pallet was mostly creams and yellows, dotted with the rich mahogany of the bed frame and the chairs and the one table. The bed had a gorgeous cream colored canopy, and there were three big mirrors, all of them with gilded frames.

"Wow, this is-" I turned around and my sentence caught in my throat. There was just something about the way Riku was leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed casually... Something about the intense way that I _knew_ he was looking at me through the blindfold. I loved it and hated it, because there was still that wall, the wall was quite a bit weaker at the moment, but it was still there. That horrible barrier between us that I knew better than to cross, but I so desperately wanted to break it.

I looked straight into the places of his blindfold that I knew his eyes would be. This feeling... It was so intense. It made my heart pound and I felt goose-bumps crawl up my arm. I suddenly realized what the feeling was... It had taken me a moment, because I hadn't felt it in so long...

It was _lust_.

It was a longing, desperate urge to rip that fucking cloak right off of him and pull him onto my bed.

I closed my eyes, mentally scolding myself. I just met the guy a couple of _hours_ ago, and I'm already wanting to jump him? What the fuck was wrong with me...

I opened my eyes to see that the wall was back full force, and that he was looking at the floor instead of at me.

He cleared his throat. "Um... A couple things about the room... One, the windows are a little screwy, so it would just be best if you just didn't try to open it. I'll get Merlin to fix that as soon as possible. And um, all the rooms are conjoined. The door to my room is there," He pointed to the door on his right. "If you uh, need anything, just let me know."

With that, he closed my door and I listened as his footsteps led him to his room, where I heard the door open and close. Then silence.

I leaned against the wall, covered in a cream and almost silver-ish filigree patterned wallpaper, feeling almost out of breath from the intense experience my hormones just encountered.

I though for a moment... He was looking at me so intensely... Even though I couldn't see his eyes, I could _feel_ it... Was he feeling the same thing I felt? Once again, I scolded myself. Don't be ridiculous...

Even so, I couldn't help but to walk slowly over to the door that would lead me to his room. I lifted my hand, and just held it over the delicate little knob.

If I had known that Riku was standing in his room at the same door doing the same thing as I was, I would have opened it immediately.

A/N: End chapter three! I hope I haven't confused anyone or anything... I think I'm keeping this story together, but if you don't think so, just tell me... with a REVIEW! :D

** Axel: (patting his stomach) You know... Being held captive by you isn't so bad after all... What with the pancakes and all...**

** That's right, Aku... Give in to the darkness ^_^**

** Axel: O_O Anywayyy, if you guys review, I'll give you a sneak peak of the strip tease that I filmed for Roxas a while back to give him for his birthday. It's not like I'm ever gonna give it to ****him...**

** *_* Why haven't you told me about this video?**

** Axel: (shrugs) it never came up.**

** (narrows eyes) Anyways, yeh, what he said! I love reviews :3 Therefore, I will love you if you review :D am I annoying you with talking about reviews so much? Good. Because I will only keep pestering until I get more of them... (evil grin)**


	4. Water

**A/N: Hellooo, lovely readers :3 This chapter, I'm starting off in Riku's POV, and then I'm gonna switch to Candace's, though both POV's will be happening at the same time. So don't be all confused because you didn't read the author's note ^_^**

** Axel: Yeh! And Candace also wanted me to give a special shout out and thank you to her only two reviewers so far, UminekoKingdomHeartsFan and Kanika Meskhenet!**

** Woooooo! (throws flowers and whistles) Bravo! :D**

** Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

** Warnings: ****smut, potty-mouth language, adult themes, rape, and stuff!**

** OH! And there's a um, (cough), shower scene that just kinda popped up... And a bath tub scene... I just couldn't help it. Fictionally undressing Riku just made me write smut, lol XD**

_Riku's POV:_

I stood in my room, staring at the door that led to hers, tense. This girl had no right looking at me the way she did! She had no right making me yearn for her...

I repressed a shudder. Those eyes... They were entrancing. They sucked me in and held me in their gaze, and I almost, _almost_ lost control of myself. How pathetic...

Still...

My hand hovered over the little door knob, wondering what she was doing... Was she thinking of me?

God, Riku, cut it out! This girl has only one purpose, and that's to stay here until we eliminate the threat. And if we fail to eliminate the threat, and they get too close to the Door, we will need her to shut RKH for good. (A/N: RKH=Reverse Kingdom Hearts ^_^) Hopefully it won't come to that, though...

Lost in my thoughts of battles to come, I was finally able to take my mind off of her. As I walked from the door to my bed, I reached up to take off my blindfold, but thought better of it. Sora was still probably with Kairi, and he would no doubt barge in at any moment to tell me how awesome it was. He didn't need to see me for what I was...

I chuckled to myself. He was so innocent... So perfectly pure.

I didn't deserve a best friend like him... Me...

I was... I was _tainted._

Soiled.

Foul.

A disgusting aftermath of darkness that no one should have to look at, let alone endure as a part of their life. I should have stayed locked behind that door amongst the other foul creatures of darkness where I belonged...

I was nothing but _filth_...

I let out an angry shuddering breath that I had been holding. Maybe it was a subconscious thing, or maybe it was an honest attempt to get rid of the filth, but I decided that a shower was a pretty good idea. Yeah, that would calm me down...

I unzipped my cloak, courtesy of the Castle That Never Was, (What? Stealing from _them_ isn't bad... Well, except maybe stealing from Demyx...) and tossed it over the back of a chair. I took my time shedding my black wife-beater, pulling off my jeans, and sliding down my black boxer-briefs. I threw all of those items in the clothes-basket and stepped into my simple white bathroom. I didn't have anything special in here, unlike the girls who got huge jacuzzi style bath tubs with jets and everything, and these really awesome showers where the water comes out of the walls in all directions... Me and Sora got a shower stall with a glass door, and that was it other than the sink and toilet. Just because I was a guy, didn't mean that I didn't want an actual _bath_ sometimes...

I turned on the water and waited for it to heat up. Once again, I found myself reaching for my blindfold, but again decided against it... I still wasn't used to my body transforming into _his_...

As soon as the water got steamy, I submerged myself into the relaxing water, my back facing the hot spray. For a while, I let the water simply run down my hair and travel it's way down my body. I cleared my mind of all thought, feeling _almost_ peaceful... But it didn't last long. I very quickly started thinking about Candace again, wondering if she was doing the same thing I was... I shuddered and slammed my fist against the wall beside me.

Stop thinking about her! Just fucking stop it!

But it was too late... As soon as I'd envisioned her naked and wet, her back arching from the comforting pleasure of the hot water running down her body, the image wouldn't leave. Very quickly, I felt a problem growing between my legs... It had been so long since I had indulged in any type of pleasure whatsoever, and this wasn't gonna go away so easily.

And it's not like anyone would know...

Guiltily, I bit my lip and found my hands sliding over the hard, yet still soft, muscled torso of my own body, feeling the crease of the underside of my pecs, every line that my defined abs made, and the creases that traveled from the inside of my hip down to coarse silver hair. My hands by-passed my crotch teasingly, and instead ran down my thighs.

This is how she would do it... She would tease me relentlessly before giving me the hottest pleasure I'd ever experience...

I closed my eyes, letting the fantasy take over... She would be behind me in this shower, caressing every inch of skin she could find, placing hot kisses between my shoulder-blades, sucking on the skin, and scraping her teeth over my spine...

I bit my lip, stifling a whimper as my fingers slid softly over my now throbbing manhood.

She would do this...

With one middle finger, I traced a solid line from the base of the underside, all the way up to the head, giving the sensitive slit a good rub. God, it felt amazing...

I grabbed the bottle of conditioner and squirted just a little in the palm of my hand, and began to stroke my length slowly, tortuously...

_She would do this..._

With one hand still stroking, the other hand slid down and very lightly caressed my balls before going even further back to press against the sensitive skin right behind them. I moaned very softly as my stroking hand picked up it's pace, causing a light slapping sound every time it came back. The hand that was tucked behind me traveled up and danced over my torso again, fingers running playfully over a nipple, rolling it with a fingertip.

_She would __**do this**__..._

My stroking became desperate now, and the slapping got louder, and fuck, it felt sooo, so good, _oh God_...

"So good," I heard myself moan before I could catch it.

I pressed my lips together, trying to refrain from any other outburst, my breath coming and going fast through my nostrils as I grunted and whimpered in pleasure. A few times I would part my lips, daring to make a louder noise as my tongue slid out and traced my lips, wishing it was _her_ tongue...

My hips were bucking in time with each stroke, and my free hand was still roaming my chest, and with a slightly louder, more drawn out moan, my head flew back and my eyes squeezed shut as I came on the wall in front of me, but I kept going with my now choppy stroking until every last drop was released.

I leaned against the wall, panting.

Well... That was... Refreshing?

I shook my head, now ashamed that I had done that while thinking of a girl that I had only met hours before. What a jackass...

I angrily washed off, this time focusing on getting clean and NOT on particular dark-haired green-eyed beauties.

I turned the knobs of the shower off a little more forcefully than was necessary, and stepped onto the cold tile. Wrapping a towel around me, I opened the bathroom door and, as I expected, saw Sora sprawled across my bed casually.

"Man, you take long showers!"

I froze. How long had he been here and what did he hear?

He looked at me and tilted his head. "What's got you so flustered? You mad at someone?"

"What do you mean?" I snapped at him.

He held his hands up in surrender. "Sorry! You're just all flushed and you look really angry."

"So is Kairi pregnant yet?" I changed the subject quickly. Am I really still flushed from my shower experience?

Sora blushed and started stammering. "N-no! Jeez Riku, d-don't talk like that! We just kissed... And it was awesome!"

I smiled at my friend. He was so innocent...

My smile turned into a smirk, though; I couldn't help but mess with him. "Did you slip any tongue in?" I laughed as his blush grew darker.

"Rikuuu! Come one, does everything have to be dirty with you?"

"Now Sora, french kissing isn't dirty... It's totally normal. You should try it sometime." I was pretty much grinning like a cat as he groaned and buried his face into my pillow. "And who said you could get so comfy on my bed?"

He threw the pillow at me and said, "Shut it! I don't need your bitching."

I caught the pillow without even trying. "Hmm... Leon's right. You _do_ sound funny when you curse."

"You know what sucks? I can't even catch you by surprise when you're blindfolded." He grimaced.

"Who says I can't see anything when I wear it?"

Sora stared at me wide-eyed for a moment then said simply, "You are so weird."

"I try. Now unless you wanna profess your undying love to Kairi to me or tell me something interesting about your make-out session, I'm really ready to get in bed and go to sleep..."

"But it's only 9:30!" Sora whined and look dejected.

"Well, some of us have shit to do in the morning. Unlike other people who sleep till 1:00 in the afternoon..."

Sora groaned and got up. "Okay, okay... Are you gonna tell me what you were so mad about when you came out of the shower?"

"No," I said with a murderous glare. It's funny how those seemed to work even though people couldn't see my eyes...

"Sheesh, okay, I'll go!" He walked to the door and added softly, "Riku... When are you gonna stop acting so cold? I miss when we were little, when you were happy... Now the happiness is always short lived before the anger comes back. I know we've been through a lot, you most of all, but I can't stand seeing you like this. You're my best friend... And it hurts me to see you like this."

He looked at me from under his long lashes, a deep concern in his eyes.

I sighed and said quietly, "I don't know, Sora... I wish I wasn't so angry all the time either. But I just can't say when I'll be okay again. I'm sorry for hurting you and Kairi, but for now, this is just how it is. One day, I hope that I'll be better. But I still have a long way to go... Oh Sora, please don't cry..."

I looked at him, tears welling in my eyes as I saw his beautiful blue eyes grow misty and tears fall onto his cheeks. Here I go again, tainting everything I encounter...

I felt so disgusting. I wanted to run to him and hold him and tell him that everything was gonna be okay, no matter how many man-laws I would've broken in the process. But I was scared to touch him... I might get my filth on him...

But it was too late. He had already walked over and grabbed me in a tight hug, which I had to return. This kid was my best friend, even though I didn't deserve his love. I would be there and comfort him no matter what.

We pulled away from each other and he wiped his tears from his face as he sniffled.

I dried my own tears and said, a little choked up, "You know I'd do anything for you, Sor. You and Kai both. And from now on, I'm gonna try and be happy... I'm gonna try to find my light."

Sora nodded and gave me one last hug before he walked back to the door.

He turned back and said, "Hey... Just so you know..." He smirked wickedly. "I did slip some tongue in." He laughed as he shut the door, leaving me with my mouth open in shock.

Huh. Maybe Sora wasn't so innocent after all...

I chuckled and shook my head, tossing my towel to the floor. I would get it up later...

I didn't bother with clothes as I collapsed on my bed, face first. It had been a long day... Finding the fourth, fighting Marluxia, re-telling our story, jacking off in the shower...

I shook my head. Don't think about it...

Though I gotta say, that was one of the most intense orgasms ever. Just thinking about her made it so much more-

I mentally punched myself.

Shut.

Up.

I groaned and turn off the lamp on the night-stand to the right of the bed, and got under the blankets, still not bothering with clothes. Fuck it...

_Candace's POV:_

I stepped away from the stupid door to his stupid room and growled. Not a good growl, just one of those girly ones that us females do when we're frustrated. How did he do this to me? How did he make me so completely unlike myself and make me feel warm and mushy inside...

I petulantly stomped my foot. I didn't want to think about him anymore... I couldn't handle it.

So I decided to check out the bathroom instead. I opened the door and turned on the light and-

"Holy crap!"

I found myself in the bathroom of a fucking _queen_. There was a jacuzzi tub on the right, a huge vanity mirror with bowls of pink roses sitting on the table attached to it, a sink with another huge mirror, and one of those cool showers that shot water out from all directions. Everything was either pink marble or cream tile. It was pretty much ridiculous.

I have a feeling I'm gonna be staying in here for most of my stay.

Speaking of which, how long am I going to stay? I'm sure JR is gonna get worried, and God knows what's going on with Rebekah right now...

I shivered and refrained from thinking of what that bastard was doing to her...

Okay, now I really needed a shower. I looked to the tub... Or maybe a bath...

I stripped of my clothing in a rush and turned the water on, and the tub filled up surprisingly fast. A small smile spread on my face as I dipped my toes in the water. Oh my, it was perfect...

I stepped in and sat down with a contented sigh.

"Now how do I turn this thing on," I muttered searching for a button or something.

I found the knob that controlled all the settings of the tub and switched it to it's lowest setting. Immediately, the jets came to life around me. The tub was so big I pretty much swam to the nearest row of jets and leaned back on them. Fuckkk, I could get used to this...

I lowered myself a little and rested my head on the edge of the tub, all my worries seemingly melting away. Before I could stop myself, I started to think about Riku and the way he had looked at me... Jeez, even through the blindfold, his eyes hit me like a fucking truck... I wonder if he can see through the blindfold? Wouldn't that be kind of pointless? I sighed, realizing that I would never understand the madness.

But at the same time...

He's so incredibly beautiful... His long silver hair that cascaded down his back, his graceful way of doing _everything_, his little smile that comes out every now and then, and I bet his body-

No! Bad thought!

I growled again and thought of the other people I met today. Leon was fucking gorgeous, but he was even more stoic and quiet than Riku... I wonder what his story was... Then there was Yuffie, who's bubbly personality made me feel right at home so quickly... And Aerith who's soft voice could calm anyone down and make them feel welcome... Kairi who could very quickly become a good friend while I'm here... Then there's Sora.

I laughed out loud. He is so cute! Like, in a dumb puppy kind of way. I could just pinch his cheeks and ruffle his hair like he was two. His happiness is so infectious and he himself radiates with warmth and light... He could easily become my best friend here...

And no matter how I tried not to, I thought of Riku... He was just so... _Fuck_. I could stare at him all day... His lean but still built body, his perfect pale skin, his masculinely angled face, his silvery hair... He smelled like summer rain and his voice was smooth like velvet... Which led me to another thought...

I wonder what he _tastes_ like?

I gasped at the thought.

I never think about people like that, _ever_. Least of all people I didn't know...

But still...

I imagined running my tongue along that pale, slender neck, wondering what kind of delicious sounds I would earn. I imagined running my tongue over his perfect pink lips, and slipping it inside of his mouth, exploring, _tasting_...

I shivered. Thinking of how he would gasp in delight, moan my name, and sigh words of agreement...

I felt my face grow hot and a dull aching form between my legs...

No.

No, no, no, NO.

I will _not_ think of a complete stranger that way!

I squeezed my knees together tightly to keep myself from doing anything stupid. How high school would it be for me to touch myself while thinking of some guy?

But he's not just some guy. He's Riku... The man who saved you today and led you to your destiny...

I shook my head. That doesn't give me a right to think about him like that!

I growled again and grabbed some soap and started cleaning up. I wet my hair and realized that my victor rolls were still in tact. Ha! I have such cosmetic skills...

Through the process of cleaning, my mind went blank of all the stupid thoughts that had been swimming around before. I loved (and was slightly creeped out by) how they seemed to know my love for flowers. The soap smelled like gardenias. I took a deep breath through my nose and savored the smell... Gardenia's had such a perfect smell...

As I rinsed off, I felt much happier and healthier. Baths always did that for me... And I stepped out the tub, turned the jets off, and wrapped myself in a big fluffy towel. After I grabbed my clothes from the floor, I opened the door and nearly jumped out of my skin with a squeal.

"Oh! Jeez, I'm sorry, Candace! I'll wait while outside while you get dressed-"

I laughed. "No, Kairi, it's okay, you can stay. We're both girls, it doesn't bother me... I know you won't peep at me like a pervert."

She smiled, relieved. "Oh! Good, I'll just turn this way..."

I started drying off and put on my bra and looked at my panties that I wore today... Gross, I don't wanna wear them again...

As if to answer my question, Kairi made a sound like she remembered something. "Sorry again, but I almost forgot that I brought you some pajamas and a pair of panties... Their clean, I promise." I saw her cheek lift in a smile from where I stood as she pushed the clothes behind her for me to grab.

I smiled at her kindness. "Thanks so much, Kairi..." I took the pj's and pulled them on. They were cute blue shorts with a cute little blue camisole. I almost giggled at how cute I felt. "Kay, I'm all dressed!" I crawled on the bed in front of her as she turned to look at me.

"Soooo," I began, grinning mischievously at her, "how was that make-out session Riku initiated ?"

She blushed and giggled. "I actually came to sort of ask you about that, sort of..." She fidgeted with the hem of her plaid pajama pants.

"Oh? What did you wanna talk about?" It was nice to see that she was comfortable enough with me to want to talk to me about Sora...

"Well," She started, hesitantly. "You're like, 19, right?"

"Mmhm."

"Well, since you're older, cause I'm only 17, and I figured you would know a little more about these things than I do..."

I chuckled and said sarcastically, "Kairi, if you need to have the sex talk, I suggest you wait and have it with your mom." I giggled as she blushed and stuck her tongue out at me.

"Nooo, that's not what I meant, silly!" She sighed. "It's just that I've been trying to make Sora understand that I really, _really_ like him... Let me rephrase that..." Her brow furrowed a little. "Candace, how do you tell someone that you love them?"

The question kind of surprised me. Wow, they must have been closer than I thought... It must have come with what they had all been through...

"Well..." I started, thinking it through. "Kairi, love is a really relative thing. It affects everyone in different ways, and it's never the same feeling twice. And everyone is special in the way that they show it or tell it. First of all, tell me what Sora is like to you."

She looked down and laughed once. When she looked up her eyes were somewhere else... They were looking at Sora. "Well, he's... He is so special to me... He's like my sun. I revolve around him and he stays put for as long as I need him, giving me warmth and life. Without him, my life would be cold and dead... Without his smile, his laugh, his eyes, his porcupine head," She laughed out loud, "I wouldn't have a reason to live anymore."

The poetic words of the girl stunned me to silence. Now _that_ was love... True love that everyone wanders the world their whole life to find. She didn't even realize that she had answered her own question.

"That's it!" I said. She looked at me confused. "Just tell him what you just told me... And add an 'I love you' at the end of it, just in case he doesn't get it... After all, the kid is pretty dense."

Kairi laughed and said, "You're right! He is dense... And what I said just now really is the perfect thing to say to him... If I can gather up the courage to say it." She giggled.

"Well, there you have it! Problem solved."

"Thanks, Candace..." She said as she pulled me into a hug.

It was funny, because even though I had just met her today, the hug wasn't uncomfortable or awkward in any way. It was like I had known her for years... Which suddenly reminded me of something.

"Oh! Kairi, there was something that I forgot to ask Riku..."

She pulled away. "What's that?"

"Well, earlier today, Riku said that mine and Sora's hearts were connected, which was why I knew his name and why I felt so comfortable around him... What did he mean by that?"

Realization dawned on her. "Ohh, it makes sense now... That's why I was so drawn to you, and why I felt like I needed to ask you about the Sora thing, too! Here, I'll explain, but it's kind of confusing and weird... Me and Sora share a heart... Not a physical one, but the spiritual one that's at the core of everyone. The same type of heart that's at the core of every world, and the core of all worlds together... Since Sora's heart is so special, and so full of light, it effects everyone who interacts with him, including people without hearts, like Nobodies, and people that are already bound to his future by fate. Like you. Now, somewhere along the line, you're heart must have been connected, though it's impossible for anyone to say how that happened..."

"Which means... Our hearts are connected too?"

"That's right! Wow, this makes so much more sense now..."

"I... Guess?" It kind of just confused me even more.

Kairi giggled. "I know, it's really weird at first, but you'll catch on."

"Yeah, I'm sure I will."

She yawned and blinked a couple times. "Oh man... I think it's time for me to get to bed... I've got a big day tomorrow!" She beamed as she hopped up from my bed. "Thanks so much again for your advice."

I smiled and said, "Anytime, Kairi."

She wiggled her fingers in a wave and walked out the door, shutting it behind her.

Huh... My heart was connected to Sora's, and in turn Kairi's...

This is some weird shit.

My brain was all crazy from all of this new information, and I decided that it was time for some much needed sleep. I yawned and flipped the light-switch off, buried myself in the perfect down comforter, and looked in awe at the canopy that draped gracefully from my new bed.

As I drifted to sleep, I idly wondered what Rebekah was doing now...

**A/N: (fanning self and wiping away nosebleed) Did anyone else enjoy reading that shower scene as much as I enjoyed writing it?**

** Axel: I did.**

** O_O okayyy then, I hope everyone enjoyed it! Aku, give them something for reading!**

** Axel: Ummm (frantically looking around for something to give) Dammit, uhh! (not having anything else to do, he unzips his cloak and shows off his muscles.**

** O_O (dies) REVIEWWW! :D**


	5. Closer

**A/N: Hello again, dear readers :3 This chapter, our little main character is going to start training for battle! Yay! Yikes, this chapter came out slow... Oh, and I've gotten rid of Axel... He pissed me off too much. I've opted for someone much more fun to fuck with! :D Come on in, puppy!**

** Saix: (walks through the door in a stalking manner, glaring)**

** Aww, come on, Saix-puppy! Don't look so glum.**

** Saix: Must you call me that?**

** Yes.**

** Saix: -_-**

** Why do you keep looking at me like that?**

** Saix: -_-**

** (sigh) Puppy, I think it's time I've introduced you to a friend of mine: Jack Daniels. (hands him a full shot glass)**

** Saix: (eyes the honey-brown liquid suspiciously) What is this? This isn't a person...**

** Just knock this shot back and you'll feel much better. I promise (grins)**

** Saix: I see no use in arguing with my captor... (sighs and gulps it back)**

** …...Feel any different?**

** Saix:... O_O (stands on the chair and starts dancing suggestively)**

** Hahahahaha! Yes, I WIN! Now on with the reading, people! :D**

** Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

** Warnings: ****smut, potty-mouth language, adult themes, rape, and stuff!**

_Darkness. It had swallowed the poor girl whole... Or so it seemed. All she knew anymore was the pitch black surroundings of the new space that she now occupied. With only a chair and the rope that bound her to it to call her own, she sat in the darkness, studying her breathing rates. It was so quiet, she even noticed how her heart beat effected how each breath entered and exited her lungs. So dark... So silent... For hours, maybe days, she couldn't tell anymore, she was deprived of food, water, and sleep. The absolute blackness around her was driving her mad... She couldn't take it... As expected though, she heard a familiar sound that signaled to her that her captor had arrived. She couldn't see him, not in this darkness... She never could, even though she had memorized the sound of his entrance and his approach. He spoke to her, promising her freedom, light, and nourishment if she would only allow him to perform a procedure that would let him see inside her heart. Not her physical heart he told her, but the one inside her soul that held phenomenal power. She denied him any answer, including acknowledgement that he was even there. He chuckled darkly. She felt his breath on her ear as he whispered to her, speaking strange things that she didn't understand about hearts and power and darkness and how all these things would benefit the world, especially his world... The world of Nobodies. She shuddered as his tone changed... As his lips touched her collar-bone softly. She screamed as his teeth sank in..._

I shot up out of bed, trembling violently, various sounds of fear threatening to escape my lips. I put my head in my shaky, clammy hands and tried to erase the nightmare from my thoughts... It was like I _was_ that girl, but also like I was _watching_ her in the darkness, too. Like I was both watching and feeling at the same time... It was so confusing because the darkness was so deep, I couldn't even tell who or what was where... The only thing I recognized was his voice...

_Marluxia!_ Damn that man...

I felt tears forming in my eyes, but gritted my teeth and held them back.

I wasn't going to start my morning off crying...

Well, I guess it's morning...

I looked around for a clock but didn't find one. It was still dark out, but I didn't know quite how late it was. I rolled around for about half an hour, but sleep didn't come at all. I sighed, frustrated, and looked at that _stupid_ door again... I wonder what he's doing...

Well, he said that if I needed anything to come to him... And I really would like to know what time it was... Oh, what the hell, I'll wake him up, the rude ass...

I slipped out of bed, taking my time, and welcomed the plush carpet that met my feet, wiggling my toes a little.

For some reason, I felt the need to be a ninja. I silently padded my way across the floor and stood in front of the door, contemplating. Should I really...? I mean, he's grumpy in the middle of the day, and I'm absolutely positive that he's gonna be like the devil personified if I wake him up in the middle of the night... Oh well, he can deal.

I opened the door, which didn't squeak or even rub against the carpet underneath it. Riku's room was a stark opposite to mine. It was so... Plain...

Then I saw him, laying in his bed on his stomach, his hair all over the place, and... What the fuck, is he still wearing that thing?

Yep, he was. I saw the ends of the blindfold flow out of the back of his head like ribbons.

I almost felt like glomping him and tearing off the damn thing. But something told me that there were various reasons why that would be a terrible idea, the most interesting one being that my instinct told me that for some reason, his blindfold was crucial to who he was. That he wouldn't be the same Riku without it...

I sighed and walked over to the side of his bed.

"Riku," I whispered.

Nothing.

"Riku," I said a little louder.

Still nothing.

"Rikuuu, come on, don't make me force you to wake up!"

This time, he groaned and buried himself deeper into his pillow.

I sighed, reached over, and yanked his pillow from under his head.

"AH!" he yelped as he shot up to a sitting position, looking around in a startled manner.

"Good morning, sunshine," I said sarcastically, even though I was having a hard time concentrating on what the hell I was saying, because I very quickly noticed that his blanket had fallen down to reveal a perfect, may I repeat, _perfect_ upper-body build. This man was trying to kill me...

His chest quickly stopped heaving as he realized it was just me, and I saw him get all fidgety. Ehh? Why was he being so awkward all of the sudden? He didn't hardly give a damn for the most part of yesterday...

He ran his hand through his hair and said, "Uh... Good... morning...?" He sounded dazed. "Do you um, need something?" He bit his lip.

You... No! "Well, I woke up a little while ago, and I couldn't get back to sleep, so I figured I would ask what time it was. And no, I don't have anything better to do." I grinned and clasped my hands together behind me and swayed in an innocent five year old pose.

"Oh, well..." He leaned over and turned his lamp on to it's dimmest setting. Looking at his rather old-school alarm clock, he said, "It's almost 3:30... Damn, you're an early riser."

"Well it's not exactly my routine to have nightmares and wake up sweaty and dying and then not be able to get back to sleep..."

"Nightmares, huh? Yeah, I understand... You start having those more often when you hang around us," He smiled wryly. "But if that's all you needed... Then let me go back to sleep." He fell backwards and landed softly on his pillow.

"Well, thank you for your graciousness, sir," I said sarcastic again. Yes, it usually is worse in the morning.

I didn't wait for a reply as I stepped back into my room, shutting the door quietly behind me. It really was too early for me to get started on my confusing emotions I was going through right now. With Riku, Rebekah, Marluxia, the Heartless, my keyblade, and my purpose to worry about, things just kept getting more chaotic in my head. Well, I guess now would be a good time to draw. Drawing always helps...

I walked over to the desk and found some clean paper and a pencil, made a nest with my comforter, crossed my legs and started drawing...

_Riku's POV:_

"Shit," I breathed to my ceiling after she had closed the door.

That was _way_ too close.

I shifted my arms and legs around, further reminding me of my nakedness. It's a good thing she decided to tear only the pillow away from me...

And as soon as I looked at her, she was giving me that same damn look again! Does she have _any_ idea what she's doing to me?

I thought about it... No, she had no idea. I mean, It's not like she knows I can see her...

I sighed and decided to just go back to sleep.

But as I lay there, eyes closed, sleep never came. My mind was swimming with thoughts of this girl that I barely knew. And it was really starting to _piss me off_...

You know what? That's it.

I'm done.

I will not come close to even being _friends_ with this girl. If I hurt her feelings, tough. That's life. Life is pain and disappointment, and it won't be any different for her.

I angrily rolled onto my stomach and forced myself to go to sleep.

_Later that morning..._

"What do you mean 'you can't train her'?" I was fuming. You've got to be kidding me...

Leon pinched the bridge of his nose and continued. "Riku, I can't train everyone. On top of my own training that I do with Cloud, I have Kairi to take care of who, let's face it, isn't exactly warrior material, and I'm having to keep Sora in shape since the lazy ass won't do it himself. I just can't deal with anyone else, least of all a rookie. You're gonna have to do it. It's not like you can't handle it..." He looked at me speculatively before adding, "Don't tell me you can't handle training her..." I saw the corner of his mouth twitch upwards. So Squall, this is how it's gonna be then...

"Fine, I'll do it. And stop looking so smug." His version of a smile only got bigger, which made my lip curl upwards in irritation. To be such a man's man, he can be as manipulative as a bitch in High School.

He nodded, his smile gone. "I'm off to work with Kairi. You might wanna get what needs to be done with Candace out of the way, in case any of the Organization shows up late today." He turned and walked away, not waiting for a reply.

"Great," I muttered. So much for avoiding her...

I all but stalked away from the bailey heading back to see if she was still in her room. When I finally got to her door, I heard Sora laughing.

Wait, _Sora_?

What the _hell_ is he doing in there? If Kairi finds out that he's been alone with Candace in her room, she's going to slaughter him...

I knocked on the door impatiently, and Sora had the nerve to answer, still slightly giggling.

"Hey Riku!" He was cheerfully oblivious of my foul mood. "You need to talk to Candace?"

"Yeah," was my short, angry reply. Sora seemed to take the hint then and his face dropped a little.

"I'll just go find Kairi or something..." He almost jogged away.

"Yeah, do that," I said, glaring into his back.

I walked in the door and there she was, sitting cross-legged on her bed, still in her pajamas. There was paper scattered all around her covered in drawings. I didn't look at them.

She seemed to be in a much better mood, though. She half-smiled at me, and it seemed like a very genuinely happy smile. It wasn't a surprise though, if I thought about it. Sora had that affect on everyone...

She looked at me confused. I guess because I'd forgotten how to talk since looking at her, and since I was the one barging into her bedroom, I should be the one to be talking right now.

I took a breath before I began. "I start training you for battle today. We will train for at least an hour a day, sometimes much more if I feel like you need more work."

She looked at me and her gaze became more intense. And if I hadn't seen that look before, I wouldn't have caught the undertone of fear there.

Before she could respond I asked, "And why was Sora in here?" I didn't care if my voice made it sound like an accusation.

She chuckled softly before she said, "I was drawing his portrait. See?" She picked up the drawing that had been sitting on her right and held it up to me.

The only thing she had drawn were his eyes. I had to say, it was breath-taking. She had captured all of Sora's happiness in this drawing. How could she do that with only pencil and paper...

"I told him to think of something funny while I drew him, because I wanted to draw his happiness. He said he couldn't laugh on command, and all I had to say was 'fart' and he nearly died." She laughed then continued. "I was going to keep this so that I could remember him forever. I realized this morning that I probably won't ever see any of you again after... What needs to be done is done. So, I figured why not draw everyone? I drew Kairi earlier." She gestured to her left to multiple drawings, some of them just of Kairi's eyes, or lips or the edge of her face, and one that was a full portrait.

This girl was _talented_.

She stacked the papers together, clearing her throat in what seemed to be a self-conscious way.

She spoke again. "But about that training..." She looked up at me a little sheepishly. "Is it bad for me to be nervous?" She pressed her lips together.

Her sweet demeanor made me feel like a total jackass. I was banking on her being all smart ass-y like she was earlier so it wouldn't seem so ridiculous for me to act so cold.

It was funny, because I'd never had a hard time being cold before with anyone other than Sora or Kairi. And even then, I was able for a little while to achieve that. This girl... it was impossible to be cold to her, especially since that first look she gave me last night...

Come on, Riku, you're losing your edge.

Something inside of me told me that losing my edge may not be a bad thing around her.

I mentally shook my head and spoke. "Sorry about the accusing tone. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions... You're very talented though."

"Thanks," She smiled warmly. "Wait..." The smile turned into a very different kind of mischievous grin. "What did you think Sora was in here for?"

Crap. I stammered a few times, not able to think of a logical explanation.

She started giggling hysterically and fell over on her side, her knees closing and falling to the side with her.

I groaned. "Can you not laugh at me? What was I supposed to think?"

She calmed down a little. "Come on, Riku... Sora? Really?" She shook her head, rolled her eyes, and looked up at me as she got more comfortable on the bed... I couldn't help myself. I let only my eyes follow the curves of her body and loved how the down comforter molded to her shape. God, I am an awful person for taking advantage of this...

"Riku? Hellooo, anyone home?" She looked at me, pure confusion in her eyes.

She really had no idea what she was doing, did she? Laying in her bed, her fuck me body practically calling out to me...

And she really, truly didn't know how appetizing she looked right now.

I almost couldn't shake the disbelief of her innocence from my mind as I finally answered.

"Sorry, it's just been kind of a weird morning... I guess I'm still tired." Lame.

She giggled again. "I figured it was something like that... I didn't think you acted this funny all the time." She paused and her brow furrowed slightly. "Say, does Sora affect everyone like this? I feel like a two year old, all... Happy and giggly and stuff. It's really weird."

I chuckled. "Yeah, Sora's kind of special like that... His light is very strong."

"What do you mean by 'his light'?" Her head tilted.

"Well..." I paused, thinking it over. "You know how we've been pounding the ideas of 'hearts' and 'darkness' and 'light' into your head?"

"Yeah, and I know that the heart you always talk about isn't physical."

"Right. Well, for every heart, there is darkness and light, which are both very powerful influences on that person. Some people have a little more darkness than others..." I trailed off, thinking again of my fate... But quickly pushed those thoughts away and started back. "And some people, like Sora, have more light. Sora though, has a greater light than any one of us has ever seen. He's accomplished so much just through the power of his heart; through the power of light."

"Yeah, Kairi told me his heart was special... I guess this is what she meant. And I guess his light is so bright that it affects everyone, just like you and Kairi said."

"Yes. He's even brought Nobodies to feel emotion... But enough talking about the mechanics of this madness... Your head might explode."

"I feel like it already has," she muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Well you better get focused. I'm not one to take it easy on you during training." I smirked.

She looked at me dead-pan for second, but didn't say anything.

I turned and walked to the door, but looked back to speak again.

"When you're dressed, meet me outside. When you exit the hallways, take a right like you're going to the bailey, and you'll see a little gate to your right. I'll be just through there." With that, I walked out and shut the door, immediately walking away quickly. I didn't wanna give myself any ideas...

_Candace's POV:_

I was still laying on the bed when I heard him walk away. Jeez. I mean, I understand that he's tired and all, but his mood swings are a little crazy...

I stretched, but didn't bother to sit up. I wonder if Riku's heart had darkness in it the same way Sora's had light? Is that the way the darkness took hold of him and how Ansem possessed him?

I sighed and slid from my bed to the floor. I really needed to stop trying to make sense of all of this...

I walked over to my new double-door closet that Kairi helped me stock earlier. She told me that the three Good Fairies had made me new clothes to wear while I was here, and that the clothes themselves held powers. What the powers were, no one knew yet. That was decided in the time that the power was needed. For now, the clothes would give me strength, energy, and overall boost my performance as far as battle goes.

I shuddered... The word battle scared me.

I mean, I try to be as strong and confident as I can, but... Fighting? That's a little beyond what I ever thought that I would have to do in my life.

I sighed, again, mentally scolding myself for thinking too much, and opened the doors.

I immediately reached for the outfit that was very much a pleasant surprise for me to see when Kairi brought it. I nearly hit the ceiling when I saw my purple mini-dress and white canvas boots from my dream. I smiled as I stripped and pulled my new and adorable clothes on. This place was really growing on me...

I didn't bother trying to do anything with my hair. There was really no point if I was going to be training with Riku today anyway, so I just left it natural.

I stepped out and weaved my way through the labyrinth, and though I got lost a couple times, I figured my way out fast enough. I followed Riku's directions to the gate. I opened it and gasped.

It was the garden! I knew there was one nearby...

All the flowers that I had smelled before were there, including others that I hadn't been able to detect. A certain serenity came over me as I closed my eyes took a deep breath of the warm, fragrant air. I opened my eyes and saw Riku, standing on the edge of a wide circle of stone tiles lined with stone benches. He had taken off his cloak and draped it over a bench to reveal jeans and a black wife-beater. Jeez, would a shirt kill him?

I walked towards him, figuring it was just because it was hot and he needed to be comfortable.

As I got closer, I saw his eyebrows rise just slightly before he said, "What's with the dress?"

I smiled and put my hands on my hips proudly and said, "The Good Fairies made it for me! The shoes too."

He put his hand under his chin and said quietly, "It suits you..." A little louder he said, "And since the Good Fairies made them, they're probably going to be perfect for battle." He walked to the middle of the circle, which was about where I had gotten before I stopped. "Now, do you know how to summon your keyblade on command?"

I shook my head. "I've only used it once, you know."

"Well, it doesn't really take much effort once you're used to it... All you have to do is feel it's power within your heart."

I tilted my head down and focused on it... And it really didn't take much for me to tap into the corner of my heart where this new power lay. Without much thought, my keyblade appeared in my hand.

Riku nodded once in approval, his own blade appearing in his hand.

"First lesson," he said with a slight air of authority. "Defense."

He swung his blade from the left, aiming for my side, a little slow and not too hard. I blocked it awkwardly.

"Here, you would hold it like this," He came to me and started bending a turning my arm in a much more natural position.

"Now let's try it again." He swung his blade a little quicker this time, but I blocked it easily, memorizing the exact way Riku positioned my arm and held it strong.

"Very good," he said, nodding again.

And the rest of training went like that. He would attack and then show me the proper way to parry that particular attack, and we repeated each one over and over again so that I could recognize each attack as it started to happen instead of right when I saw the blade coming towards me. He also taught me about movement, posture, and balance, which I picked up on easily. Within an hour or so, I was moving around the grey circle at a pretty fast pace, blocking, ducking, and turning to avoid each attack.

Then, when Riku's blade was locked with mine slightly above our heads, he didn't move to attack again. I was gasping for air and he was barely breathing hard.

"We're done for the day," he said simply as he backed away, his blade disappearing as he walked back to the bench that held his coat.

"Tell me something," I said panting with my hands on my knees, "why do you always wear that thing?"

One side of his mouth turned up as he said, "It's perfect for when you want to stay inconspicuous. It's also a good way to get into the Castle That Never Was to spy on the Organization with hardly any risk of getting caught. Unless Zexion is around..." He muttered that last part.

"Ah, I see... How do I get rid of this thing?" I lifted my keyblade.

"Oh, just will it away, it's not hard."

I tried it, and he was right. I just had to think about it going away.

I walked to the bench that Riku was standing near and nearly collapsed on it, shaking my hair away from my now sweaty face.

Riku had his fist under his chin, which I've now realized he does when he's pondering something.

"Are you a dancer?"

The question kind of stunned me. "Yeah... I am, actually. I studied ballet for a while but had to quit when money got tight. How'd you know?"

He chuckled. "I thought so... You're incredibly aware of every part of your body that you move. That's a very good asset to have as a fighter. And you also kept turning out your feet."

I laughed. "Well, old habits are hard to break I guess. And jeez, I didn't notice you taking note of all those things.

He chuckled again. "Well, like you said... Old habits are hard to break. You'll learn that studying your enemy helps a lot before you start doing any heavy fighting with them. It takes some practice though. Start by looking around you and taking notice of every detail you see... Go ahead, try it now and say them out loud."

"Well..." I looked around. "I see... Um... One of the cherry blossom trees over there looks like it got struck by lightning... And some of the stone tiles on the edge of the circle over there are broken... And only one of the four fountains is actually working..." I paused.

Riku nodded. "Keep going."

I looked closer at the tiles. "Well, these tiles seem to be made of granite, which is a pretty strong rock, so whatever broke the ones one the edge of the circle must have been pretty strong. And..." I looked at the tree again and then looked back to Riku.

"That tree wasn't struck by lightning, was it?"

Riku shook his head. "No, it wasn't. You did good, even though it took you a minute to realize that there was something destructive here at one point, which is something that you should learn to recognize much faster. Sora fought a very powerful heartless here once. This was back when he was fighting with two other companions from the Disney Castle and still couldn't fine me and Kairi."

"Wow..." I said looking at the the tiles and the tree with a different perspective. "Sora's really something, isn't he?"

Riku hesitated before saying, "Yeah... Let's head to the marketplace. It's time for some food since I didn't let you get breakfast." I noted a hint of almost... bitterness when he agreed with me about Sora. I wonder what _that_ was all about...

I suddenly noticed my empty stomach, realizing that I hadn't eaten since breakfast _yesterday_, and agreed enthusiastically to food.

As we walked to the marketplace, stopping once to speak to Cid again, I thought about Riku and his... Well, like I said before, mood swings. When he was with Sora or Kairi, he seemed happy and normal, even though sometimes with Sora he got a little sad sometimes. And when he was with me it would switch from cold to a little happy to really _really_ awkward. I tried to put the crazy pieces together and try to figure out this man, but gave up before we even got to the marketplace. I should just stop trying to understand this craziness... Though of course, I won't. I always gotta be so damn stubborn...

When we reached the little stand selling various food things with little tables and chairs sitting out front, I think we both realized at the same time that we were getting lunch... _Together_.

Riku turned to me kind of awkwardly and said, "Um, sorry, I totally forgot that you probably didn't have any munny. Um, I'll just buy for both of us."

"Oh, well you don't have to Riku, I'll just..." I trailed off. Honestly, I didn't know exactly what I would do about food.

He half smiled like he always does and said, "Exactly. Let me buy you some damn food."

He chuckled a little before turning to the guy at the stand and ordered for himself.

As I stared at the back of his head in what I'll admit a creepy manner, he turned to me and asked what I wanted. Good thing I was paying attention to the menu...

"Um... I'll just have the same... As you...?" It kind of came out as a question.

"Okay," Riku said with a real smile. Wow! A real smile! At me! And neither Kairi or Sora was around!

Awesome.

...Even though he was probably just laughing at my retarded reply... Fuck my life.

I sighed at sat down in the chair that was almost directly behind me.

Riku walked over then with these cute little paper boxes that were folded origami style. Ohh, this place just keeps getting better...

I took the lid off my little box and saw something that I wasn't expecting from the stoic silver-haired warrior beside me; It was two peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches and a little jug of milk. Pff...

Since he probably already knew that I had no idea what he had ordered, I looked at him amusedly and said, "Peanut-butter and jelly?" I giggled a little.

With a mouth full of sandwich he looked up and said, "What? I love these things..." and continued to eat.

I laughed and said, "I was expecting something a little more manly, actually."

He swallowed and said, "Yeah well, just because I'm an epic killin' machine doesn't mean that I can't enjoy a good pb&j every now and then..."

I just giggled and started eating, and all the awkwardness of this feeling kind of like a... Well, a _date_ wore off instantly.

While we ate, we actually talked. Like friends. It was amazing what a couple sandwiches in a public place can do. We talked about our favorite foods, our childhoods and our hobbies, and for some reason we got stuck on my dance career.

And the weird thing was that Riku seemed to know a little bit too much about it.

I had to ask.

"Riku, how do you know about all this stuff that's supposed to be like, dancer exclusive? Don't tell me Mr. Killin-Machine took ballet..." I giggled at the thought. I just couldn't see it...

"Actually, my Mom was an awesome dancer back on the islands. After she ended her dance career, she went on to teaching, and she taught me a lot of the important things about ballet. You know, like posture, awareness, balance, discipline, and respect. I ended up being way more athletic than Sora, which is why he always felt the need to compete with me. I'd probably kill myself if I tried to do the things a real male dancer does though." He put his elbow on the table and rested his head on his hand, looking at me.

A little self conscious at the obvious display of observance, I looked down and fiddled with my paper box before chuckling a little, saying, "Wow, I didn't think I'd ever see it; A guy that's not a dancer that actually respects dancing..."

He smiled and said, "Yeah, that's what I get for being my mom's son." He leaned back in his chair, and it felt almost like he had released me from his gaze.

I relaxed in my chair too and looked at the sky. "Hmm...," I said, my brow furrowing. "It looks like we've kind of been here for a while."

Riku leaned and looked around me to look at the clock inside the stand.

"Yeah, it's about 2:00... We've been here for two hours."

"Yikes, that's a long time." Holy cow, two hours?

"Yikes? So being with me is scary?" He laughed a little as one of his brows went up.

I laughed too saying, "Well, it can be. I mean, you kicked Marluxia's ass yesterday..." The name brought up bad thoughts, but I pushed them away quickly.

"Ohhh, so I'm too intimidating to have a good time with? That's very nice of you to say." He chuckled.

"Well..." I started off hesitantly. "Today... was actually... pretty... nice." It came out kind of broken up because I almost couldn't believe that I was talking about how much fun I had with him today. Hell, even training was fun if I was being honest.

And it was mostly because I was with him.

Ohhhh no. No, no, no. Don't you _dare_ get attached to him...

Although it might be a little too late...

Riku smiled slightly at my response.

"I have to admit... It was nice for me, too..."

In that short moment of a comfortable silence, I looked at his hand laying on the table in front of me and desperately wanted to reach out and touch it... To hold it...

I felt my resolve breaking. I felt my need to be close to him almost overpower every bit of logic I had left. I knew it was stupid to get close to him, this man I'd only known for two days. I knew I would be making a big mistake by starting something romantic with a guy that I knew I would have to leave one day...

But was it really so bad to give in to this overwhelming feeling I had coursing through me right now?

I couldn't tell...

Not yet.

Riku crumpled up his paper box and got up to throw it away. When he came back he offered me his hand to help he up.

I looked at it, bewildered.

Riku laughed. "What? Don't you have gentlemen where you come from?"

"Not many..." I admitted as I tentatively took his hand.

When I stood up, I felt a reluctance from both of us to let go.

So... We didn't.

_Riku's POV:_

I can't believe I'm actually doing this...

I held her soft hand the whole time I walked her back to her room because she said she needed a shower. I relished the feeling of her skin against mine the _whole time_... Even when we got to her door, I was reluctant to let go. I wanted to hold it and follow her into that room and... God, I don't know _what_ I would do if I were in there with her...

So, I let go.

Our fingers slid away from the other's, and I almost, _almost_ asked if I could stay with her. But, finally, my sanity came back and I stepped away after she told me she would see me later. Fuck, I really hope so...

Not knowing what else to do because I knew Sora was training right now, I went to my room and collapsed on the messy sheets that I hadn't bothered to fix.

I took a deep breath and finally scolded myself. What the hell was I thinking? I had just met this girl and I've already had multiple fantasies about her, I bought her lunch, and acted like she was my girlfriend the whole way back here.

I must really be going crazy from all the darkness...

I let out a hard breath of air and rolled onto my back.

Even if I was crazy...

I had to admit...

I'm really getting attached to this girl.

**A/N: End chapter 5, woo! Damn you writers block... Anyways, please review! It makes me write faster and encourages me not to kill people in my story :D yay!**

** Saix: (still drunk and singing) REVIEW REVIEWWWW RE-RE-REVIEWWW!**

** Beautiful, puppy. That should be a number one hit.**

** Saix: REEEEVVVIIEEEWWWWW! (falls off the chair and collapses)**

** haha...**


	6. Forgetting

**A/N: ****STARTING OFF IN RIKU'S POV!**** And alright, I just wanna say... THANK YOU, ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE FAVORITED, ADDED THIS TO ALERTS, ETC. You guys are all amazing, and I really appreciate it :] Although, I still don't have many reviews . Aww, and thank you UminekoKingdomHeartsFan for adding me to your favorite authors :D I don't deserve this much love! (sobs) You're awesome, buddy! :3**

** Saix: (hugging a bottle of Jack) aww, yeh ya deww! Yer sho talenteddd... (vomits)**

** I gotta ask... Puppy, did you brush your teeth with that?**

** Saix: (wiping his mouth with his sleeve) Uh.. Yesh. An I woked up feelin like P. Diddy tewww... In da tubbb...**

** BAHA... Now that I've successfully turned Number 7 into an alcoholic... Onward, dear readers! :D**

** Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

** Warnings:** **smut, potty-mouth language, adult themes, rape, and stuff!**

** OH YEAH! This chapter contains a major **_**LEMON**_**! Om-nom-nom...**

_Oh man, is it good to be back home... The waves are crashing, the sky is a perfect clear blue, and the seagulls are calling to the wind. I can smell the paopu fruit... It must be ripe... Oh but it's hot. It's too hot, actually. Probably because I'm still wearing my Organization coat... And my blindfold... I hate this. I hate how the darkness holds me back from truly, completely being back... I'm home and I can't even enjoy it... Wait..._

_ Why- OH NO..._

_ NO!_

_ Fucking darkness is growing from my skin! Oh no no no, please God, don't tell me it's coming to this, PLEASE, I can't leave Sora and Kairi and-_

_ "Riku!"_

_ Candace!_

_ She walked towards me, arms open like she was going to hug me._

_ "Candace, you have to stay away! You can't come near me, I'm... I'm... I'm tainted!"_

_ She wouldn't listen. Her eyes were sad as she got closer..._

_ "NO! NO, D-DON'T!"_

_ The darkness melted her skin and I saw her bones as she embraced me... I didn't dare look at her once beautiful face..._

"_NOOO_!" I screamed as I shot up in my bed, nearly tearing my hair out. I felt tremors rack through my body as I fought back any more screams and tears. My blindfold was already wet...

I punched my headboard, probably waking up Kairi in the process.

I can't believe it... I can't take it! I didn't deserve her touch! I don't deserve anything from her... I would only corrupt her and hurt her...

I might as well be a rotten corpse. I'm too disgusting and too riddled with wretchedness for anyone to love...

Filthy.

Dirty.

Tainted.

Foul.

"Oh God..." I almost sobbed...

I hate myself.

"Riku?" I heard a shaky whisper of a voice in front of me. I looked up to see her standing at the open door that joined our rooms. She took a tentative step towards me and her hand was out in front of her. Her eyes looked pleading for some reason...

"Get out." I said coldly.

"Are you okay?" She ignored me.

"I said _get_. _Out_." I glared at her. I can't let her come near me, I can't hurt her...

Her voice was tight and pleading as she said, "Riku, please, just tell me what's wrong, I-"

"_GET OUT!_" I roared at the top of my lungs and pointed at the door.

She gasped and jumped a little, but held her ground for a moment. Her eyes turned from sad to murderous as tears fell onto her now rosy cheeks. She shook her head at me and turned sharply, leaving me and slamming the door behind her.

I collapsed and curled into the fetal position... And cried. I'll admit it... I cried like a girl, but I didn't care. All I knew was that I hated myself...

Almost immediately I heard footsteps running down the hall. Of course, everyone needed to see if I was okay.

Can't anyone get the hint?

I can't be near them! I'll get my filth on them...

I watched my door swing open and Sora ran to me.

"Riku, what just happened? Are you okay?" His eyes were filled to the brim with concern for me, and I didn't deserve it.

"Sora," I whispered. "Just leave... Please."

"Riku, what happened to you? Please, I'm sick of you hiding everything! Why do you act like this?"

"I can't tell you... You wouldn't know me anymore." I muttered.

"That's _IT_! I can't take this! I'm sick of the riddles, Riku! What really happened to you while we were apart? Why do you wear that _goddamn blindfold_?" His voice shook with so many emotions, I couldn't tell what he was feeling right now. I just knew that he was hurt.

That's all he'll ever be if he stays around me...

"Riku!" He yelled at me.

"I..." I wasn't ready for this. I wasn't ready to let him know... "I'm so sorry Sora... I'm so sorry..." Fresh tears fell hot down my face.

Sora sighed and sat beside me.

"If anything, can you tell me what happened just now? Who were you yelling at?"

I gestured to the door, not able to say her name.

"Candace? Why did you yell at her?" He looked bewildered.

"Because, I..." I trailed off. I couldn't tell him...

"Riku, just tell me, man. You need to tell someone or you're gonna explode or something."

Well, that would be preferable. But, he was right. I had to tell him...

I took a breath and said quietly, "I yelled at her because she was about to try to comfort me... And I couldn't let her touch me because... Because I was scared that I would taint her."

Sora started looking at me like I was literally sick in the head and that I needed to be sent somewhere.

He hesitated before asking, "What do you mean by 'taint'?"

"The darkness," I said even quieter. "I didn't want my darkness to hurt her... She's so full of love and light, I don't want to ruin it..."

Sora sighed and closed his eyes. I guess he was relieved to finally know _something_. I guess I would have been too if I were him.

He spoke to me, a little more comfortable. "Riku... You're darkness can't touch her. It can't touch me either, or Kairi or Leon or anyone. The darkness... Is yours and yours only. I thought you knew that, Riku... And you don't need to worry about it so much; it will go away one day! You just have to find your light, like you said you were going to try to do. But you can't find it if you push everyone away like this because you're scared that you'll hurt them. You're light is out there. And when you find it, your darkness will go away. Permanently. Darkness is no match for light... I thought you knew that as well as I did."

"I was having my doubts... But you're right, Sora. I need to stop... This craziness." I took a deep breath and calmed myself. "I guess the nightmare didn't help."

"That's why Candace came in here to comfort you?"

"Yeah... Fuck, I really need to apologize to her..." I pushed the blanket off of me after Sora stood up.

"You gonna be okay?" He asked, a little concern still lingering.

"Yeah," I said with a small smile.

I'll be fine... She'll make me fine...

"Okay..." And with that he smiled, a real Sora smile, and walked out, closing the door behind him.

I stood up and took another steadying breath. I wasn't sure what time it was, but since Candace was in her pajamas I figured it was nighttime by now. Damn, that was a long nap...

I walked to her door and reached for the door knob, but thought better of it. She would probably throw something at me if I barged into her room after what happened. So, I gently knocked on the door.

I heard a soft rustling and eventually the little knob turned tentatively.

She opened the door slowly and fully and just stood there, glaring at me.

"Candace..." I started quietly.

"_What_." She said sharply.

I sighed. "I just... I just wanted to say that I was sorry and that I wish I could have controlled myself a little better... I didn't mean to hurt you, I was just-"

She cut me off. "Well you should have thought about that before you fucking screamed in my face! After what happened today..." She trailed off for a moment but started up again, this time a little quieter. "I thought that meant that you wanted..." She sighed and seemed reluctant to continue.

"That I wanted what?" I whispered.

"That you wanted... Me." She sort of laughed once, bitterly. "But, like always, I was wrong. Because, as usual, no one wants me." Her voice broke at the end and she tried to close the door, but I stopped it dead. How dare she say that I didn't want her!

"You honestly think that I don't want you?" My voice rose slightly, involuntarily.

"What the hell could make me think that you do? When you're not having some sort of crazy mood swing, you're just cold and angry for no reason, and then when I tried to see if you were okay just now, you acted like you were gonna murder me if I came any closer!"

"I didn't want you near me because I didn't want to hurt you! I know you can't understand it, but I just don't want you hurt! I couldn't bear the thought of..." I trailed off.

"The thought of what?" She crossed her arms

I hesitated before finally saying, "It's not important."

"Oh no, you're not gonna avoid this with me. Riku, I can't stand this. You either like me or you don't. Fucking pick one." She glared at me harder.

My voice dropped to a whisper again. "I didn't want my darkness to get on you."

Suddenly her expression changed. It was mixture of confusion, hurt, fear, and pity. But mostly she just looked like she wanted me to continue, to explain.

So I did. "I've been so scared for so long... I've been so worried that I was so far into the darkness that it would effect other people, too. I tried to convince myself that I couldn't hurt people like Sora and Kairi if I just kept my distance... But... the nightmares, they just... kept getting worse. And after all the shit that I've been through, the most scared I've ever been was just now when I thought that I would have hurt you if you touched me. That was what my nightmare was about before you came in... I had just dreamed about the darkness eating at your skin like acid and..." I took a shuddering breath and felt more tears coming. God, I couldn't even bear to remember the horror that I felt... "I just..."

She suddenly looked at me, a mixture of sadness, pity, and something else I couldn't understand in her eyes. She reached out and touched my hand. I had to remember what Sora said so that I wouldn't jerk away...

She could tell that I had more to say. "What is it, Riku?" She whispered.

"I just... Fuck, I just want to forget that the past few years even happened... I don't want to remember that I destroyed my island, that I embraced the darkness, that I betrayed my friends, that I was controlled like a puppet by that _bastard_..." My tears flowed freely now. "But most of all, I don't want to wear this constant reminder of what I am anymore... I don't want to know what would happen if I took it off... I wish I could take it all back... I wish I had never opened that door on the island..." A small sob escaped my lips.

"Oh, Riku..." She whispered, and I felt her tug on my hand, signaling that she wanted me to come in her room...

And so I did.

_Candace's POV:_

I couldn't believe how selfish I had been. I had stood here, throwing a pity-party for myself while this man that I now had in my arms had suffered more than I could even imagine. I didn't know all the details, but I knew that he was hurting...

And I would do whatever I could to make him better.

To make him forget, just like he said, like he was saying now...

"I just want to forget what I've done..." He whispered, almost desperate.

As I stood there in the middle of my new room, my arms around him, I realized that there was a way to help him... For tonight.

Tonight... I could help him forget.

I could let him see that I would be right here, always, for him to come to when he needed anything.

I would show him that I loved him.

Even though I barely knew him, even though we had both gone through so much insanity... Since the moment I saw him I had known, deep down inside, that I felt something special for him.

And that feeling was love.

It was a small love, a love that was just awakening.

But it would grow.

I just knew it...

And now it was time for me to let him know...

I started by moving. I moved my hands from his back where they had been as I held him and slowly, with ridiculous amounts of purpose, slid them to his shoulders. He stiffened.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"Helping you forget." I whispered.

From his shoulders, I moved my hands to his chest, reveling in how strong it was. Hell, how strong _every_ muscle in his body was... I slid my hands down his torso and over his abs, feeling them tighten in shock or anticipation, I couldn't tell which. I reached his hips and grasped them, pulling his body tight against mine.

He seemed to understand, but I felt a reluctance from him.

"Don't worry... You won't hurt me."

I felt him relax a little and he put his hands at the small of my back, pulling me against him even tighter.

I pressed my lips against his collar bone and slid my lips up his neck to his jaw.

Then suddenly, he wasn't timid anymore.

He put his hands on either side of my face and slammed his lips against mine, kissing me with the most desperate and intense need anyone's ever felt. His lips forced mine open and he shoved his tongue in, which I accepted hungrily, finally able to taste him the way I had wanted to...

Our tongues swirled, danced and fought with each other, both of us shamelessly giving in to a pent up desire that we felt like had been building up forever, though it had only been a couple of days.

The kiss was feverish, and after a few moments or so he pulled his tongue back so he could suck and bite my bottom lip which made me gasp in delight.

That small sound seemed to just fuel the fire for him.

Suddenly I felt him everywhere. His hands left trails of heat as they roamed down my back and over the thin fabric of my pajama shorts and slid over the smooth backs of my thighs; they trailed to the front of my legs and slid up to my waist and grasped me with impatience, and all this was happening while his mouth travelled from my lips to my cheek to my ear, which he took time to lick, and from there he slid his tongue down my neck, kissing and biting and sucking at every new space he reached, making me moan and _die_. Ohhh _fuck_, this was bliss...

By this time I was almost out of breath from the intensity.

He pushed the straps of my camisole down and brushed his fingertips over my skin gently.

But suddenly he froze, which caused me to whimper in disappointment.

"Why'd you stop?" I asked breathlessly.

"Because... I'm just kind of shocked. Something feels different, but I don't know what it is..." He seemed puzzled.

I stroked his neck an brought him close to me, my lips ghosting over his.

"Just keep going," I whispered, then ran my tongue over his lips.

_Riku's POV:_

_Oh my God_...

I didn't mean to, but I moaned from the contact. It was just what I imagined her doing before, and dammit it felt so good...

Suddenly I didn't care that for some reason I felt lighter, less weighed down. All that mattered was that this girl was in my arms and that she was allowing me to do what I wanted with her, all for the sake of helping me forget...

That's when I decided I wasn't playing around anymore.

My fingertips dug into her skin as I grasped her, probably too roughly, but she didn't seem to mind at all.

I grabbed her ass, not caring if I was being a perv or if I was being romantic or dirty or sweet or _whatever_; all I wanted was _her_. I could feel myself getting hard, and I shivered in anticipation of what I knew I was about to do soon... I ground it against her pelvic bone and whimpered, loving that the small wave of pleasure I received from it had been caused by _her_...

She gasped and I pressed my teeth against her neck and held her close, even though it wasn't close enough.

There were too many clothes in the way.

I pulled her shirt down and my sure resolve of getting her naked kind of sputtered in surprise when I saw that she wasn't wearing a bra. Damn was she beautiful...

I bit my lip and hastily tore all the offensive material down her body and her clothes pooled around her feet.

I stared in awe that I was actually seeing her, _all of her_, bare-ass in front of me.

She shivered a little and I saw goose-bumps materialize on her bare skin.

"Well that's not fair," She muttered and reached for the zipper of my coat.

She yanked it down impatiently and pushed it off of me forcefully... Hmm, this one might be a little feisty...

_Damn_.

I helped out by peeling off my usual black under-shirt while she quickly unbuttoned and unzipped my jeans and pushed them down with my boxer-briefs roughly as well.

My cock, finally freed from the confines of my pants and underwear, almost twitched in anticipation...

I heard her gasp and she bit her lip.

Her fingers traced the curves and lines of my body and then slowly, _torturously_, she slid them over my still hardening cock from base to head. The she softly wrapped one hand around it, brought her lips to my neck, and ran her tongue over my skin. Shit, this girl was trying to kill me...

Impatiently, I bucked my hips into her hand, trying to get some form of friction. But she immediately used her other hand to force my hips still.

Oh, so she was a teaser... Just like I thought she would be.

I made a sound that was almost a growl as she took her hand away from my cock which was now starting to leak a little with precum.

She took my hands and led me to the bed, and pushed me forcefully to a sitting position on the edge of the mattress.

Again, she just sort of observed me as she touched me everywhere, trailing her fingers down my neck and over my collar bone, on down until she got to my cock again.

That's when she looked at me and smirked, speaking with her lustful eyes all the multitudes of dirty things that she was about to do to me.

She bent over and touched her plush lips to the head of my cock, holding them there for a second before she kissed it and slid out her tongue to run up and down the slit.

"Aaahhh..." I gave out a long, breathy moan. God, it felt so damn good... The way the hot, slick muscle was rubbing against the most sensitive spot on my cock... It was heaven.

She then started swirling her tongue around the head, wrapping her lips around it and giving it long, slow, _hard_ sucks.

"Mmmm..." I could feel heat rush to my face as I panted and whimpered, needing more of the hot wetness that was her mouth.

Finally, she stuck her tongue out and brushed the underside of my cock as she took as much of me as she could into her mouth.

"Hhaa... mmm..." My cock twitched in her mouth and my eyes rolled back. "Ah!" I moaned a little louder as she slid those perfect lips and that perfect tongue up and down, up, down, up, down, up, down...

It was almost too much pleasure... I had to lean back and rest on my elbows. My head fell back as I gave in to her lush mouth.

She sped up her motions, up, down, up, down, up, down, up-

"Fuck!" I moaned as I felt my release grow near. It was feeling so good now, ooohhh so _fucking_ good, and I... I...

"I'm gonna... Cum," That last word was drawn out into a loud hard moan as I came into her mouth, back arching and stars swimming about behind my closed lids.

She pulled away from my cock with a loud smack and _swallowed_.

I moaned again and I just couldn't take it anymore, "Oh God, Candace, I _need_ to fuck you..."

I grabbed her and tossed her on the bed, almost not caring that she had squeaked in surprise and slight pain from where I grabbed her too roughly.

But I didn't have time to apologize for that.

I was about to _fuck this girl senseless_.

I buried my face in her neck and licked it up and down, the delicious sounds she was making traveling straight to my crotch, making me hard again.

I decided it was time for me to return the favor.

I kissed, sucked, and nibbled my way down her body, stopping at a nipple and swirling my tongue around it before continuing my descent.

I reached what would be a hairline if she wasn't shaved clean, and kissed the skin there.

She moaned and bucked her hips up impatiently, her eyebrows furrowing.

I grabbed her behind her knees and pushed her thighs up while spreading them simultaneously, then I gently slid my lips down her lower ones and placed my tongue at her entrance.

"Ahh!" She moaned again, but this time it came out higher pitched and way breathier.

I slowly pushed my tongue in, wriggling it a bit as it delved in.

As I rolled and pumped my tongue in and out, tasting and exploring the hot cavern, she was making all kinds of sounds of pleasure and arching her back.

I slipped my tongue out and slid it up to her clit.

She gripped the sheets and bucked up, trying to cause friction.

I put my lips around it and very lightly sucked while working my tongue and lips around it, making her back arch even higher.

"Oh God, _Riku_..." She moaned when I flattened my tongue out and rubbed it against the sensitive nerve in small, fast circular motions.

I continued to make circles and she moaned, whimpered, sighed, and cursed, and soon I felt the muscles in her legs and abdomen twitch slightly, and I knew what was about to happen...

She gasped and said, "Mmm, Riku, harder!" as she threw her head back.

I did what she said and pressed my tongue against her even harder, and while I did that I slicked and sucked on one of my fingers, coated it in saliva, and slipped it into her entrance, prodding for that special spot...

"HaaaAA!" She arched high off the bed and trembled slightly as she hit her climax, tearing at the sheets and moaning until she was fully spent.

I smirked and gave her clit one last kiss before I crawled back up to nuzzle at her neck.

"Did you like that?" I whispered into the skin.

Still catching her breath she said, "Uh... Um... Uh-huh..." And nodded her head.

I chuckled. "You're so cute after you cum... I wonder how adorable you'll be after I fuck you..."

I grabbed my cock and placed it at her entrance which was soaking wet with her own fluids and my saliva. I ran the head teasingly up and down her folds causing her to whimper impatiently.

Then she did something I wasn't expecting.

"Dammit Riku, stop fucking around!" She growled and flipped me over so that now _she_ was on top and in control.

_Candace's POV:_

And so here we are.

Right at the moment when I started looking back on this crazy ride of an adventure. And it had only been a couple of days. And now, here I was, about to fuck the man I loved into the mattress and not give a damn how long I'd known him. I didn't care. I love him so much...

And I'm still wondering what color his eyes are...

And the erotic touch of the blindfold is bittersweet, because I'd never seen him without it.

I thought about reaching up and just peaking at his eyes, but I didn't. He told me he didn't wanna know what happened when he took it off...

So I just looked at what I could see.

His flushed, hot skin, his perfect disheveled hair, every line that ever muscle made, the way his lips were slightly parted as soft, shallow breaths entered and left them...

Then suddenly, I found myself on my back again.

Holy crap, that happened fast...

I looked up and he was over me, smirking mischievously. My heart started pounding in my chest because he was just so damn beautiful...

At that point, I didn't care if I was in control, on top, on bottom, on my side, or anything. The only thing that mattered was that he was with me now...

The fact that he was being a _very_ dirty boy right now was just a bonus.

He bent down and kissed me with such a loving passion, I was rendered breathless. This kiss wasn't desperate and heated... It was tender and beautiful and perfect, and oh I love him, I know I do...

He place himself at my entrance again and pushed in slowly...

It was heaven.

_Riku's POV:_

As soon as I had buried my cock into her fully, I had to think of dead kittens to keep myself from cumming instantly. She was so hot and wet and tight, oh _fuck_...

I kissed her neck as she moaned in bliss and I waited until she bucked her hips up to start moving.

I pulled out slowly, teasingly, and then slammed back in with with enough force to rock the bed. She arched off the sheets and molded her body to mine, moaning loudly.

I grunted and bit my lip, as I looked down at her face twisted in pleasure...

_I was making her do that_...

The thought made my cock twitch inside of her and she whimpered at the unintentional pressure, and that was it.

I started slamming into her as fast as I could, needing to hear more, to _feel_ more...

The room was filled with her soft breathy moans and whimpers, my own grunts and husky murmurs of pleasure, and the sound of the mattress creaking and the headboard bumping against the wall. My hips were slamming against her ass making this perfect wet slapping sound every time I rammed into her.

I kept that perfect steady pace, pleasure overwhelming my senses, not letting me notice if I was getting tired or anything, all I knew was how tight she was around me and how fucking good it felt for my cock to be pumping in and out of the unbearably tight and hot wetness and ohhhhh fuuckk...

"Mmmm, sooo goodd..." I moaned as my pleasure intensified and I felt my second release coming. "Hhaa... I'm sooo close, baby... Ahh!"

Suddenly, she started moaning even harder, and I felt her inner walls twitching, and soon they clenched around me so tight I-

"Ohh! Fuck, I'm- Hhaa, I-"

"Ahhh!" I was cut of by Candace moaning and digging her nails into my back as she shuddered and bucked her hips, rubbing her clit against my pelvic bone, and rode out her second climax.

With a gasp and a sharp loud moan, I came while still ramming into her, and gripped the sheets beside her head, seeing stars again...

Ohh, I love this girl...

After we had both finished, I stayed over her, panting for a few seconds before I slid out of her and collapsed, landing on my back next to her.

She turned towards me and snuggled into my shoulder, her arm wrapping around my waist.

After I had caught my breath, I pressed my lips to her hair and whispered...

"I love you."

She sighed and smiled contentedly.

"I love you too, Riku..." She sighed and closed her eyes, a look of pure happiness on her face as she drifted to sleep.

Since I had just woken up from a nap, I wasn't quite tired enough to sleep.

I whispered, "Sleep tight, love. I'll be right back..." and gently got up to put on my clothes.

I had just zipped up my cloak when I heard faint screaming and things breaking and falling.

I ran out of the room frantic.

Oh no, what if Sora and Kairi...

I didn't have time to think. I had to get to where the sounds came from pronto.

I summoned Soul Eater and bolted down the various hallways, but getting to the source of the sound was taking forever in the stupid maze of a building.

Dammit! Why did they have to make this fucking building so hard to navigate!

I got to Ansem's old office and stopped dead in my tracks.

There was a huge hole in the wall and nearly everything in the office had been obliterated. The desk was in pieces, there were papers and books everywhere and-

NO! OH PLEASE NO...

Sora was on the floor, bleeding.

And he wasn't moving.

I ran to him and dropped to my knees

I lifted his torso up slightly, resting his head on my lap, fighting back tears... Please God, don't let my friend leave me...

"Sor? Sora, you okay? Come on, man, you gotta wake up..." I didn't have any potions on me... Fuck! I looked through Sora's pockets and found one little potion and gave it to him. It only helped a little... God, whoever attacked him must have been strong...

He gasped a few times and finally looked up at me with sad blue eyes, a little blood on the corner of his mouth.

"Kairi," he whispered. "They took Kairi..."

Oh no... "Who attacked you?" I said softly. I could barely make out what he was saying...

"Marluxia... He-" His almost inaudible voice cut off quickly as his breathing started becoming labored and erratic.

"Sora! No Sora, you have to hold on, just for a minute... I'll get you a potion, just hold on!" Marluxia is going to pay for this...

He nodded weakly, but his eyes closed.

And then his breath stopped altogether.

**A/N: Oh no. That was a long lemon. And a depressing ending. Lol, but don't despair, folks... Things aren't always what they seem ^_^**

**Saix: (completely passed out on the floor.)**

**Oh no, haha XD he's trashed. Please review, dear readers! You are all so lovely :]**


	7. Plans

**A/N: Hey, writer's block... Fuck you in the mouth.**

** Saix: (holding a cold compress to his head) I demand that you take me back at once!**

** But Puppyyyy! Didn't you have fun on your drunken adventures?**

** Saix: How could I have enjoyed myself? I don't even remember what happened after you gave me your... your... brown liquid, whatever it was!**

** Jack?**

** Saix: (infuriated) THAT IS A PERSON, NOT A SUBSTANCE!**

** Heh, whatever you say, Puppy. Now on with the show! :D**

** Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

** Warnings: smut, potty-mouth language, adult themes, rape, and stuff!**

I watched from the corner of the room as Riku paced back and forth beside Sora's bed, every once in a while turning his head from Sora's motionless form to me.

My eyes had been misty for a while, but I wasn't crying. At least I wasn't crying anymore. When Riku had run down the hall roaring at the top of his lungs for an elixir, I woke up completely confused. When I had gone to sleep, I was happier than I'd ever been in the arms of my new lover. When I woke up, it was due to the same voice that had been moaning in pleasure not long before, but this time the voice was scaring the hell out of me in it's franticness.

I threw on some shorts and a tank top and swung open the door to see and hear Leon, Yuffie, Cid, an old man with a long beard and a pointy hat, and Riku... Who was cradling Sora's seemingly lifeless and bloody body in his arms on the floor.

Riku was almost hysterical as he was trying to keep his best friend alive.

The man with the beard, who I later learned was named Merlin, pulled out a wand and crouched beside Sora, whispered something, and flicked his wand once.

A green halo appeared around Sora's head for a fleeting moment, but it disappeared as he unconsciously took a choking breath. His eyes never opened though.

I ran to him and got down beside Riku, but I was too scared to touch him. He looked so... fragile.

"Riku," I whispered, "Is he..." I took a breath. "How did this happen?"

He then told me that he heard crashing sounds and screaming and ran from my room to the old office where he found Sora like this, and that Marluxia had attacked him and kidnapped Kairi before Riku could even get there.

Seeing Riku so scared and angry and Sora so close to death pretty much threw me to an emotional breaking point and I started to cry harder than I had in a long time. Even though I had known these two people for only days now, I loved them both. Riku as my lover and Sora as a part of my heart... a part of my soul.

But now my eyes were just misty as I looked at my friend with whom I shared a bond that could never be closer, one that will never die unless we lose our hearts.

I got up and walked to him, and nearly started crying again when I thought of how I hated his face to be anything other than glowing with happiness. But I didn't. Instead, I looked to Riku who was still pacing, and touched his hand which caused him to stop in mid-stride.

He looked at me, took an unsteady breath, and pulled me to him. He squeezed my body against his tightly and wound his fingers in my hair, grasping me as if he were afraid to lose me or maybe even lose himself. Whatever the case, we held each other and I silently prayed that Sora would recover soon.

We stayed like that for a few moments before I gently pushed away from him and cupped his face in my hands. I could almost feel a sense of hopelessness radiate from where his eyes should have been.

That was the moment when I decided that I couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't take him feeling like this, not my Riku. He was too strong, too good for that...

I threaded my fingers down his hair alongside his face and whispered, "He's going to be fine, Riku. I can feel it..."

And it was true. I could feel a sense of security in my heart that he would be okay, though it was a very faint feeling and a sense of sadness overwhelmed the feeling. Still, it was there, and that seemed to be enough for me. Besides, I really needed Riku to be okay.

Riku sighed, a little comforted by the thought, but I could tell he was still worried out of his mind.

I got up on my tip toes and kissed him softly which he gratefully returned while wrapping his arms around my waist. His lush lips melted against mine, soft and passionate, and it was the most beautiful kiss in the world. No one could ever kiss me like this, no matter how hard they tried.

Unfortunately, we had to break away.

Riku rested his forehead on mine and breathed deeply. I imagined that he had his eyes closed.

After a moment of breathing he murmured, "Thank you, Candace. You don't know what you've done for me."

I quietly half-chuckled before saying softly, "What's that supposed to mean?"

He paused and pursed his lips. "I'm not sure yet. But we'll see soon enough, I guess..."

I sighed, deciding that it was probably in my best interest to not even try to make sense of what he said. Instead, I smiled and pulled on his hand, tugging him towards the door.

He protested with a grimace and stayed where he was, looking back to Sora.

"Come on Riku, he'll be okay. Besides, we really need some rest, it's getting late. Or maybe I should say early, it's like four in the morning. And..." I faltered. Would he think I was rushing things...? "I was wondering if maybe... We could sort of go back to where we left off... You know, me sleeping in your arms and all that... Maybe...?"

Riku half smiled, something only he could do and look that delicious and said, "Yeah. I'd like that."

We made it back to my room slowly, and every once in a while, the back of Riku's hand would brush against mine softly and he would lightly twist his fingers with mine, but just as soon as it would happen, his warmth would be gone. It was bitter-sweet in a way. It reminded me almost of his personality. Warm and gentle one moment, cold and distant the next.

When we got through my door, I immediately relaxed and fell on the bed with a thud, snuggling into the still-rumpled comforter.

Riku chuckled and unzipped his coat. He stripped down to his undershirt and boxers and did something that I would never, _ever_ expect from him, especially considering recent circumstances...

He _glomped_ me.

Not only did he glomp me, but he started tickling me too!

I giggled and squealed and kicked and squirmed, to no avail. He simply laughed at me, a true laugh, and I realized that his laughter was my favorite sound. It was more beautiful than John Sheppard's Media Vita, more beautiful than Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, more beautiful than any lovely sound an angel could make.

I had fallen so hard for this man in such a short time... But it felt like I'd known him my whole life and that this is just a new beginning for a future that we were always meant to have. Like he was my life that I had never truly had. Like he was...

_My light..._

_ …..._

_ Somewhere dark and distant, in a place where only the biddings of sin were carried out, a man __with a purpose darker than any pit in Hell, further pondered on his plans of true destruction._

_ His plans to smother the worlds in a Darkness never seen before. Not even by the "great" Keybearer. The things the boy had seen, experienced, and fought would seem like child's play compared to what this wicked man had planned._

_ The worlds would perish in dark fire..._

_ The strongest of Lights would be snuffed out like a candle in a windstorm by this overwhelming and all-powerful Darkness._

_ There would be no mercy to those who cherished the Light._

_ Only pain._

_ Things would fall into place quickly..._

_ Now that he had his final two pieces of the puzzle..._

**A/N: Okay, so that was really short and took forever, I apologize... ****BTW, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND LISTENING TO JOHN SHEPPARD'S "MEDIA VITA" ON YOUTUBE****. It's in two glorious parts that have the tendency to throw the listener into transcendence. :]**

** Saix: (grumbling) Here's the link: ****http: / www**** . youtube . com/ watch?v=7g7jOKLUus8... Just take the spaces out. (glares)**

** Awww, Puppy, you did so good! (pats him on the head)**

** Saix: (involuntarily goes to nuzzle my hand) Wait, WHAT AM I DOING?**

** You are doing what a good Puppy does, Number 7. Don't resist it :]**

** Saix: RRRAAAAAA! (goes berserk)**

** SHIT! RUN, RUN AWAY! AND REVIEWWWW!**

** :D**


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